“This is my favorite city”: Darion Shabbash on the Smog Paintings in Almaty

We spoke with Darion Shabbash, a Kazakhstani street-art artist from Almaty and one of the authors of the art project “What Will We Pay for Air?”

In November last year, artist Darion Shabbash and her colleague, street-artist Galymzhan Balsary, installed four canvases pre-treated with pencil drawings and a special adhesive. The canvases were placed at different locations around Almaty (near Alatau metro station, at the intersection of Navoi Street and Al-Farabi Avenue, as well as at the corners of Sain and Zhandosov). After a month, the white canvases were covered with dirt and smog from the air, revealing the underlying images.

• Darion, how did the idea for this project come to you?
• One day I was sitting in a café. It was mid-November. I was watching the road and noticed thick smoke coming out of car exhausts. I thought: “You can literally feel it physically.” In that moment it struck me: “Oh, we could make a project out of this! If it’s visible to the eye, it will show on canvases too.” I called my colleague Galym Balsary and invited him to join. That’s how we started brainstorming, worked through all the details, found places to install the canvases, invited videographer friends, and carried it out.
• What did you see a month into the experiment? Were the results unexpected? Some works look darker, others lighter.
• The conclusion after a month surprised us a bit, because to be honest we didn’t expect much to happen. It was an experiment for us, and we didn’t count on the image emerging so clearly. About a month later we returned to the rooftop to check, and we were a little shocked by what we saw. At Sain–Zhandosov, across from the CHP plant, the canvases turned out the darkest; at Abay–Zharokov the smog had “stuck” quite densely as well. That’s clearly due to traffic jams and heavy car flow.
• You lived in Germany for three years. Why did you decide to come back to Kazakhstan?
• I’m a third-generation Almaty native. This is my favorite city. Even when I move elsewhere, I know it’s temporary; I’m always homesick for Almaty. Although Germany’s ecology is superb and people are very mindful—barely driving, using bicycles and public transport—it’s so natural for them that when I returned to Almaty, the contrast inspired me to create something and express it through my artistic method.
• Many people leave Almaty because they don’t like the environmental situation, while you returned and chose to show this contrast in air quality.
• I decided to approach this topic precisely as an artist. Moreover, I have more smog-related ideas. I’m waiting for autumn, winter, the heating season to realize them, because for me this is one of the acute problems I don’t want to leave without a voice. I want that voice to carry further.
• Are you ready to tell us about your new project?
• I’d rather not talk about it on camera yet. It’s not the right time—we haven’t implemented it.
• Why did you choose the swallow? Tell us about your works.
• On the left I have a swallow. It’s like a monument to the swallows we have, unfortunately, said goodbye to in Almaty. As a child I lived at Gogol–8 Marta, and I remember well how swallows always nested under our windows. That really imprinted on me. There’s a certain romanticism when you look at Kok-Tobe from the balcony and see swallows. That memory stayed with me, and I decided to depict it. The second work—since I lived in Berlin for several years—when I returned to Almaty, I realized everything here had changed and was progressing day by day. Just as in Berlin, a technoculture has emerged: I noticed many new techno scenes and met great musicians. I decided to synthesize “oyu” (Kazakh ornamental pattern) and make it dance—mobile and dynamic. This way I weave the contemporary sensations happening now into my painting. I express what I feel around me. It’s one of the things I truly love. I think it’s also a way to converse with one’s surroundings.
• It’s been quite some time since you completed these paintings. Who has reached out to you, or where have the works been shown?
• First of all, it was a purely self-initiated project. Galym and I came together as enthusiasts—we had essentially no budget, we didn’t coordinate with anyone or give it much publicity. We shot the film ourselves, assembled the canvases ourselves, and handled all the logistics and production on our own. The adhesive that collects airborne particles isn’t available in Kazakhstan. We ordered it from abroad and had to wait a while. The project is a year old now, and these works haven’t been exhibited anywhere. I’ll add that we’re open to exhibiting them. I believe the core is the video—its value lies in its documentary nature; the canvases are a secondary product. Our main intention was to show the issue through the film and thus draw attention to it.

Film “What Will We Pay for Air?”: https://youtu.be/Fuqa5m0X-f0

• In my artistic practice, I often use secondary materials. I recycle plastic; for mosaics I use upcycling—repurposing broken tiles or old ceramic. The theme of recycling and ecology is very close to me, because I believe this is a way to reach people by setting a personal example. When people enter a museum or gallery, they don’t expect that waste or by-products of human activity can be turned into real objects that look aesthetically appealing and carry a message. Recently, Daniyar (Bakimov) and I, together with Rocker Plastic, made a large project. We assembled a sculpture from recycled plastic.
• In your opinion, what are the main causes of air pollution in Almaty?
• I was here during the lockdown and saw how clean the air became when movement around the city was restricted. At that time I lived on the 13th floor and observed everything from my window. I also see, when descending from Shymbulak by funicular in winter, how a gray cloud hangs over Almaty. Of course, many of the cars people use are no longer viable—that’s a big problem for Almaty. And naturally, the fact that private households burn tires and coal during the heating season is very harmful. I would love to see people’s circumstances improve so they wouldn’t resort to such methods. It’s a deep issue that’s hard to describe in a single word. It’s a complex of factors, I think. I still hope Almaty can switch to cleaner methods.
• What steps do you personally take to protect your health from the effects of poor air quality?
• In winter I try to get to the mountains and stay there as long as I can, though of course there’s work and other things in the city. When you stay long under the “cap” of smog, allergies appear and you get a runny nose—your body’s defensive reaction to toxins. It’s noticeable that in winter you don’t breathe at full capacity; the air is icy, and it feels like you’re constantly eating sand. That’s exactly how I feel in Almaty when I walk for a long time in winter. And I really love long walks…
• If you could make a short appeal to society and to the akimat (city administration) to address this problem, what would you say? What message would you like to convey?
• To the city residents, a small appeal: make the space around you better—take care of it. Almaty’s nature is very rich. I ask our citizens to cherish it and to try to improve and clean their surroundings. This depends primarily on each person’s habits. Everyone can contribute—positively or negatively. As for the akimat: I’d be happy to join any initiatives if they start. I truly hope measures will be taken to gradually get rid of smog. It pains me to see people suffering from pulmonary diseases and allergies. I believe we need to install eco-monitoring posts, because the smog is already reaching the mountains—that’s too much. All this will affect the next generation.