Uzbek filmmaker and artist Saodat Ismailova's work is inspired by myths, rituals and oral histories, often led by women, revealing systems of knowledge forgotten by globalised modernity. Over the last few years, her work has been presented at the Venice Biennale and Documenta, at film festivals such as the Berlinale or in museums such as the Pirelli Hangar Bicocca and the Musée du Quai Branly.
Her latest film, Melted into the Sun — after which this exhibition is named — was part of the Fondazione In Between Art Film's Nebula group exhibition during the 2024 Venice Biennale. The work, curated by the Fondazione and co-produced by Batalha, centres on the figure of Al-Muqanna, a dyer who became a spiritual and political agitator in southern Central Asia in the 8th century. At Batalha, we present it in installed format, in dialogue with two other films by the artist, Her Five Lives (2020) and Zukhra (2013), which explore the complex culture of Central Asia.

Free entry