Guzel ZakirovaLife is Marathon (2024)

At the center of Zakirova’s imagery stands the “Red Woman”, a recurring figure constructed through family legacy, oral histories she has been collecting, and conversations with women from her community. Initially emerging through the women closest to her – her mother and three sisters – these figures gradually expanded into embodiments of ritual and ancestral knowledge for the artist. Working through interviews and ongoing dialogue with women across Uyghur communities, Zakirova investigates traditions whose origins often extend far beyond contemporary understanding, surviving through gesture, material, and everyday practice.