““The residency at Docking Station was wonderful. It allowed me to get acquainted with a lot of people both connected with and outside the photography world and that enabled me to look at my project in a new way. During the meetings, we were able to find the focus in my topic. I realised that I need to work harder and harder to get my story out there. Throughout my time with Docking Station, I was able to completely focus on my project and that was very valuable to me. It was amazing.””
DOCKER #16
DANIL USMANOV
Danil’s work is about current social problems in Central Asia and his most recent project is about Islamisation in Kyrgyzstan.
Kyrgyzstan is a secular country where 83% of the population is Muslim. After the fall of the Soviet Union Islamisation began to take hold and people were looking for something to identify with. The power of the mosques grew. Now there is a prayer room in Parliament where before there was none. Some of the Muslim movements in Kyrgyzstan are moderate, but others are more radical. When the conflict in Syria began, 600 citizens of Kyrgyzstan went to fight for IS. They can’t return or they will be arrested.
Danil investigates why people make this decision and what the impact is on their lives. Danil has a Muslim background and is intrinsically interested in his own origins and culture .
Who? Danil Usmanov
From Kyrgyzstan
Docking February 1 - 20 2018
Working on 'Inshalla'
About Islamisation of Kyrgyzstan
http://danilusmanov.com/
Danil Usmanov is a young photographer from Kyrgyzstan, currently studying Telecommunication in Kyrgyz State University of Culture and Art and he is taking lectures in photojournalism and documentary photography at DocDocDoc School of Modern Photography in Saint Petersburg. Danil has graduated from "Art East" school of contemporary art in 2017.
He has participated in various international exhibitions. Danil was awarded the first prize in the Vilius photo festival 2017 contest and the special prize of the Bishkek First April Competition 2017.
ambassador
Asmara Pelupessy
Exhibitions Manager, Framer Framed
Danil Usmanov is a bright young talent from Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. We first met in 2016 when he participated in the NOOR Education Central Asia Masterclass I was running. He was one of the youngest participants – selected from an open call across the region. His enthusiasm, energy and desire to soak up every ounce of knowledge, discussion and shared passion for documentary photography blazed through and connected.
Danil is part of a committed, dynamic and mutually supportive community of journalists and photographers in Bishkek. With few local education programs specialized in documentary photography and photojournalism available, Danil has nevertheless willfully carved his path through a joyful engagement with this community and connecting with other opportunities for training.
When we met again just a year later Danil’s photography had grown by leaps and bounds. He had published a new project ‘NightShift’ – a moody, raw look at various types of nighttime labor people do to get by. It bravely revealed a less optimistic vision of the Kyrgyz economy than the paper he worked for and most local mainstream media show.
Through his Docking Station residency, Danil is working on a new project about Islamization in his home country. It’s an important story for the region and for those of us further afield to understand Central Asia better. The project is about how society is changing at this very moment, about ideals, utopia, fashion, community – about Kyrgyzstan now. I think it promises to show us something at intimate, full and rich - beyond stereotypical media stories on this subject and region. I’m excited to see how Danil and the incredible Docking Station network and photographic community here in the The Netherlands can connect, share and grow.