SHIVERING BEAUTY - Soundscape of Mongolia
Documentary, book and photo exhibition
Robin Noorda: From 2003 till 2007 I travelled 4 times in several seasons trough Mongolia and ended up in quite a variation of places where a common tourist would not be able to come or dare to go. An unexpected and personal array of impressions of an intriguing Mongolia as few experienced led me to document it in writing, photography and film.
I presented a critical visual impression of contemporary Mongolia. Besides the original charms of the land and culture, I focus also on the contrasting struggle of the quickly westernizing land of which the people underwent a transition of unfree and equal to free and unequal.
Documentary, book and photo exhibition
Robin Noorda: From 2003 till 2007 I travelled 4 times in several seasons trough Mongolia and ended up in quite a variation of places where a common tourist would not be able to come or dare to go. An unexpected and personal array of impressions of an intriguing Mongolia as few experienced led me to document it in writing, photography and film.
I presented a critical visual impression of contemporary Mongolia. Besides the original charms of the land and culture, I focus also on the contrasting struggle of the quickly westernizing land of which the people underwent a transition of unfree and equal to free and unequal.
The Mongolian National Ensemble, scene out of the film ‘Shivering Beauty, Soundscape of Mongolia
The documentary film ‘Shivering Beauty, Soundscape of Mongolia’ shows the rich Mongolian music culture by means of performances of a.o. The National Mongolian Ensemble. The music guides the spectator trough contrasting aspects of the land. The goal is to show an uncensored cross section of contemporary Mongolia.
The film was shown during the photo exhibition in the Melkweg Galerie in Amsterdam and broadcasted by the Buddhist Broadcasting Foundation on the Dutch public channel. The première was during the International Buddhist Film Festival in Amsterdam. During the the photo exhibition, my book ‘Transit Mongolia’ was also released.
The order of the book acts as a zoom lens ever focusing and descending from material to essence. Starting literally airborne and getting closer to the soil and soul by experiencing the landscape, climate, nature, culture and finally aspects of its society. The zooming descent ends up literally underground in the concrete manholes of the street-kids in a stinking and hot space of 2,5 X 2,5m of the city heating system, while outside it freezes minus 37°C. The interconnection of complex issues as the foreign mining companies, the Soviet heritage, alcohol, climate change, corruption, capitalism, the threatened nomad culture, the migration to the city and the explosion of street kids are put in perspective. I felt it as a calling to cast this message and filmed, photographed and wrote this cross media project without any funding.
Quotation of ‘Transit Mongolia’ containing the story on one of the most impressive and moving experiences in my live; 'from factories to streetkids'.
Photo-exhibition, book and film form a complementary whole with many dimensions; framed in depth and in width, in beauty and decay and from cultural richness to culture shock.
The book is sold out and now a collectors item, but I have some last copies. Enquiries about the exhibition, the documentary or how to obtain the book 'Transit Mongolië' (128 pages, 200 photo's, hardback, including the film 'Shivering Beauty' on dvd) contact Robin Noorda. ISBN 9789056701802
The gallery below contains the 39 pictures of the exhibition. The prints are up to 120 x 80 cm and mounted on aluminium.
