Send message to Author

Abstract

This paper examines contemporary Kazakh artist Moldir Karibaykizi’s work, focusing on her provocative approach to gender, memory, and family tree within the context of patriarchal Kazakh narratives. In Kazakh cultural tradition, individuals trace their ancestry back to seven generations as a part of their primordial identity; this practice largely privileges the male line while it renders women largely invisible. Karibaykizi challenges women's exclusion, particularly with her work "Jeti Ana" (Seven Grandmothers) which she depicts a seven-layered female embodiment transformed into a traditional cushion. By centering the female body as both a biological and symbolic reproductive space, the artist reclaims the erased presence of women in male dominated genealogical trajectory. The layered structure reimagines the culturally significant domain of male ancestors through female ancestors. Her work does not only question why women are excluded from genealogical records but also critiques the broader patriarchal knowledge production systems that devalues women’s agency and bodiliness. This article, starting from a second wave of feminist framework to postmodern feminism, argues that Karibaykizi’s art functions as a form of visual resistance and underscores the female body as a space for memory, continuity, as well as calls for alternative historical narratives.