Taus Makhacheva

[ Born in 1983 in Moscow (former Soviet Union). Based in Moscow and Dubai
(United Arab Emirates). ]
Taus Makhacheva combines historical narrative and personal memory with grandiose fantasies tinged with humor and irony in her videos, sculptures, objects, and installations. Based on her own roots in the former Soviet republic of Dagestan, these works examine the place of tradition in the postmodern era, the authenticity of culture, and the concept of identity as it relates to the nation. In recent years, based on personal experiences with her own grandfather, who was a national poet, Makhacheva has been developing video works inspired by the discrepancy between public record and private memory, as well as the idea of honoring and forgetting in history.