Multidisciplinary artist based in Central Asia. Themes of her research are identity, ecology, feminism, and Beyoncé. Participated in exhibitions in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Germany. Also was published in feminist literature volumes. Intizor’s art background includes short experimental documentaries, working with archives, participation in residencies. “Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Side Chicks” is her debut feature documentary, on which she has been working on for the last 3 years.
My name is Intizor, and that’s the only thing that’s left because I don’t belong anywhere.
My dad is from Khorezmi people that officially don’t exist anymore, dissolved in Uzbeks because of USSR; my mom is an Uyghur that was forced to flee her homeland at young age with guilt that only got bigger because of genocide in China. So, when I was born in Uzbekistan in 1995, it looked like identity anxiety wouldn't pass on me but then as I was a kid we moved to Kazakhstan. Official document problems, divorce threats made it clear — home would be a kind of mirage for me.
On purpose I didn’t learn native languages or traditions, but instead had close ties to Russian and English cultures. Even the title of this movie is lyrics from an album by Beyoncé because after listening about her pain I started to actually think of mine.
Colonizing myself by Beyoncé is one of the best choices I’ve made so far. In my opinion, after you colonize yourself you achieve actual freedom.
Sounds similar to a joke still being actually serious about ethnicity and countries seems strange to me. For a long time I tried to convince myself that it was fine for me to be from nowhere, that the past would not follow me. It turns out that the past is a shadow, it never leaves you. That’s why I decided to hit the road and while questioning the origins and nationalities of the people I meet on my way, I will head to the homes of my parents: China to Kazakhstan to Uzbekistan up to Turkmenistan borders.
My main intention it's to talk about stateless people. Ongoing genocide is just an extreme result of "world logic" that is also allowing 3000 ethnicities versus 200 countries. Slavery was legal once. Same should apply to countries in my selfish opinion. I was called an anarchist for this position yet it was born not only from my brain rather my whole body. I'm afraid of nationalism, of dividing, of flags, of borders, of cold big monuments, of history made with blood, of the question "What's your ethnicity?" after people hear my name.
I can sense how the elephant in the room transforms into a monster, collective trauma thanks to the silence. I will interact with people by asking them to guess my ethnicity. Reactions to this impossible to answer the right question will be mixed with my on-site artistic gestures. Movie will be focusing on stateless minorities by creating comfortable conditions for them because while reflecting on my background they can make short comments or dive deeper into their own story thus making them more visible
Меня зовут Интизор, и это единственное, что осталось, потому что я никуда не принадлежу. Мой папа из хорезмийского народа, которого официально больше нет, потому что он растворился в узбекском народе из-за политики СССР; моя мама — уйгурка, вынужденная бежать со своей родины в юном возрасте с чувством вины, которое только усилилось из-за геноцида в Китае. Итак, когда я родилась в Узбекистане в 1995 году, казалось, что тревога идентичности пройдет мимо меня, но затем, когда я была