[spectre] (fwd) exh. Dixit Algorizmi at Centre for Contemporary Art in Tashkent (CCAT)

[Andreas Broeckmann]

Exhibition

Dixit Algorizmi

Centre for Contemporary Art Tashkent (CCAT), Tashkent / Uzbekistan
October 5–November 15, 2021

*Centre for Contemporary Art Tashkent (CCAT)*
6 Shakhrisabz Street
100047 Tashkent
Uzbekistan

https://acdf.uz/en/news/dixit-algorizmi

*Charli Tapp, Elisa Giardina Papa, James Bridle, Navine G. Khan-Dossos, 
Neil Beloufa, Saodat Ismailova and Space Caviar*

The Centre for Contemporary Art in Tashkent (CCAT), which sits under the 
Art & Culture Development Foundation of the Ministry of Culture of 
Uzbekistan, presents its exhibition /Dixit Algorizmi/, exploring the 
seminal work of ninth century Uzbek polymath, Muhammad ibn Musa 
al-Khwārizmī. Curated by Joseph Grima and co-curated by Sheida 
Ghomashchi and Camilo Oliveira, the exhibition opens October 5, and 
unpacks the influence of al-Khwārizmī’s work on today’s technological 
acceleration.

/Dixit Algorizmi /centers on al-Khwārizmī findings detailed in his book, 
/Kitab al-Jabr wa-al-muqabala/; the Latin translation of the book gave 
rise to the word “algorithm.” According to curator Joseph Grima, “The 
algorithm shapes all the possible interactions in modern culture through 
the apps on our smartphones. We know the word, but we don’t understand 
it. The exhibition retraces its origin and the impact it has had on 
societies, from ancient to modern times.” Technology we assume to be 
modern, such as artificial intelligence, rests on the basic principles 
theorised by al-Khwārizmī.

Saida Mirziyoyeva, the Deputy Chairman of the Art and Culture 
Development Foundation, states: “Al-Khwārizmī left a whole science to 
the world. In /Dixit Algorizmi, /we explore how technologies that we 
consider to be fundamentally new are based on ideas which are distant in 
time.” Executive director, Gayane Umerova, further comments: “The 
scholar and his works become the central theme reflecting on cultural 
and scientific symbiosis, while artists transfer the historical identity 
of modern technologies to visual perception. Through a multi-faceted 
collaboration between international and Uzbek artists, /Dixit Algorizmi 
/reveals the connection of millennia of history with the world we are 
seeing today.”

The exhibition pays tribute to the scholar and his story by connecting 
it to multiple fields. The works by the contributing international 
conceptual and visual artists are thematically linked to three different 
themes, each of which provides a fresh perspective on the exhibition’s 
thesis:

The first theme explores the notion of the portrait and the 
representation of al-Khwārizmī today, without reliable historical and 
biographical information. The resulting works are a series of 
collaborations between international artists and Uzbek craftspeople.

The second theme relates to the ways in which the ideas first 
articulated by al-Khwārizmī have transformed our ability to interact 
with each other through technology. Selected artists whose work explores 
the influence of innovation on modern life present individual works.

The third theme presents redefinitions of our understanding of 
algorithms. On show are texts and diagrams in the form of posters 
contributed by international creators whose work investigates the 
relationship between everyday life and the history of science and 
technology.

The selected artists, Charli Tapp, Elisa Giardina Papa, James Bridle, 
Navine G.Khan Dossos, Neil Beloufa, Saodat Ismailova and Space Caviar, 
have been invited to take their own perspective on the tradition of 
craft as part of the cultural history of Uzbekistan. “Art, design and 
technology are intertwined, reinfocing the idea that crafts, like 
algorithms, are a series of steps that accumulate to form a certain 
outcome,” states co-curator Camilo Oliveira. Fellow co-curator, Sheida 
Ghomashchi, quotes “/Dixit Algorizmi /invites us to uncover a fresh 
perspective on the source of the technological and philosophical 
innovations that have led civilization to the point where it is today.”

In tandem with the exhibition, which is installed in the former 
powerhouse housing the CCAT, there will be a variety of live and digital 
events, talks with artists and experts, as well as film screenings and 
discussions that further delve into the exhibition theme. There is also 
an exhibition catalogue designed by Studio Folder, taking the form of a 
curiosity box, that includes contributions from an open call to 
thinkers, artists, philosophers on how they interpret al-Khwārizmī’s 
influence on modern world.

For enquiries, images and interview requests please contact: Alpha Kilo, 
Maria Livia Pappagallo / Sebastian Duran de Huerta, 
livia.p at alphakilocreative.com
sebastian.dh at alphakilocreaive.com
T +39 347 170 1950 / T +44 7548 435 82