0,5

Close

42x55 cm
mixed media on paper

Qarataw is the name of a mountain range in Qaraqalpaqstan, but in my hometown of Nukus, it is better known as the label on a bottle. Produced by the local Nokis Vino Zavodi, it is our most famous export—a symbol of regional pride that has become a permanent fixture of our social landscape.

‘0,5’ is a portrait of a cultural ritual we forgot how to stop, and the duality of an icon that connects qaraqalpaq community.

By placing these bottles within the silhouette of the mind, I am illustrating how a substance can occupy the very space where identity, dreams, and futures should be.

For the youth in Qaraqalpaqstan, Qarataw isn't just a drink, it is more of a cycle and a social glue that often leads to collapsing families and a generational repetition of the same destructive path.