In my "Motherland" series, I intertwine my family's history with that of the Kalmyk people to find my place within. I explore both personal and collective memories, preserving them through hand embroidery as an act of resistance.
This series from 2014 consists of four hand-embroidered portraits, each showcasing a different woman, symbolizing various chapters in Kalmyk history.
1. An unidentified Kalmyk woman.
2. Maria Adyanova, 1946:
I came across this photograph on Elza Guchinova's website, specifically in the Siberian Album section. This album holds memories of deported Kalmyks, and one of those stories belongs to Maria Adyanova. The Kalmyk deportation took place on December 28, 1943, following their alleged collaboration with German invaders in 1941, resulting in their relocation to Siberia and Central Asia for 13 years.
Link to the memories: http://www.elzabair.ru/cntnt/lmenu/stati/u_kazhdogo.html.
3. Larisa Yudina, 1998:
Larisa was the editor-in-chief of Sovetskaya Kalmykia, the opposition newspaper. I used to read this newspaper frequently because my mother sold it at the Central Market of our hometown Elista. Larisa was brutally killed in 1998. "Kavkazsky Uzel" reported that her assassination might have been politically motivated due to her investigative journalism. While the perpetrators were apprehended and convicted, the true mastermind behind the crime remains unknown to many.
Source: https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/321439/
4. Nadezhda Sarangova:
My mother, Nadezhda Sarangova, born in 1949 in the village of Talmenka, Altai Region, during exile. She died in 2010 in Elista, Kalmykia.
