Dance of Men | NOWNESS Asia
Original music for an artist profile. Dir. Zhannat Alshanova.
Produced by Étage (2022).
Material
An artist profile featured on NOWNESS Asia, exploring the 40-year career and complex visual language of prominent Kazakhstani painter Yerbolat Tolepbay. The film officially premiered at Volta Basel during the artist's personal exhibition.
Framework
The objective was to translate Tolepbay’s visual language — rooted in traditional Kazakh heritage, ancestral memory, and the physical landscape — into a purely acoustic medium. Treating the score as an auditory extension of his canvases, the challenge was to articulate his aesthetic and psychological density strictly through musical form.
Structure
Rather than acting as traditional accompaniment, the original music operates as the primary narrative vehicle. By structuring the sound to reflect the specific rhythm and metaphoric scenography of Tolepbay’s art, the score guides the viewer through the internal mechanics of his creative process.