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Project

Mirage

‘Mirage’ is a research project on the ecological disaster of the Aral Sea and the people living in its aftermath. The starting point was the idea to suggest the locals in the town of Muynak, a former seaport, sharing one ceramic plate and laying out a mirage on the bottom of the dried Aral Sea near the town. The ceramic plate as a symbol of the local / national unity, craft, became a toolbox for my dialogue with people, a symbol of a hospitable resident typical of this country. As a result of this gesture, a collective organism was born, and the people became my co-authors. Having started with city dwellers and their homes, I continued to get acquainted with the staff of local organizations and institutions. Then contacted the city administration, local schools. Eventually, the mechanism that I launched began to operate without my participation. On his Facebook page, the country vice prime minister posted an ad inviting all the concerned citizens of Uzbekistan to participate in the project.

Residents of all regions, school students and teachers started sending plates, having previously published group photos with them on several public websites and on social media. The Tourism Committee handed me over 1000 traditional cotton plates. As a result about 3,000 plates were collected. At the end of the project
the central Uzbek television filmed a report and broadcast it on television. Now the plates are stored in Muynak. Olga videodocumented the whole process, the final work is the film ‘Mirage’.

July 10, Olga launches a fundraiser on a crowdfunding platform. At the expense of this money, Olga plans to organize a film screening for residents of the city of Muynak at the bottom of the dry sea at sunset. As lots it will be possible to buy one of the plates from this project, the plate will be specially marked.

Movie trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIGTqcDHWek&t=9s

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