BENCHELLAL, MONUMENTAL: Uzbekistan’s Architecture in Mohamed Benchellal’s New Project
On 5 September, the State Museum of History of Uzbekistan will open BENCHELLAL, MONUMENTAL | “Sculpting Past Tomorrow” — an exhibition by Dutch-Moroccan designer and artist Mohamed Benchellal, created following his residency in Tashkent.
The architecture of Samarkand and Bukhara, Tashkent modernism, monumental structures and the traditional ornamentation of Uzbekistan become the starting point for a new series of works by Mohamed Benchellal. Known for his sculptural silhouettes and his practice at the intersection of fashion and art, the designer approaches the country’s architectural heritage not as a collection of recognisable references, but through form, proportion and space.
The new series was created during Benchellal’s residency in Tashkent in 2025. Travelling across Uzbekistan, the artist explored very different layers of the country’s visual culture — from the historic ensembles of Samarkand and Bukhara to 20th-century architecture and experimental examples of Soviet modernism. In his work, these impressions are translated into volume: fabric takes on an almost architectural structure, while garments begin to exist as independent sculptural forms.
This connection becomes particularly apparent in a series of photographs created in Uzbekistan by Tim Verhallen as part of the project. Benchellal’s looks were photographed among the architecture of Samarkand, Bukhara and Tashkent, as well as at the Great Solar Furnace of the Institute of Materials Science. The relationship between the scale of the buildings and the human figure is constantly shifting: at times, the model almost disappears into the architecture, while in other images the saturated colour and complex volume of the garments become the dominant elements within the space.
The series includes images shot at Shah-i-Zinda and other historic locations in Samarkand, in Bukhara, at Hotel Uzbekistan and alongside some of Tashkent’s most iconic modernist structures. The photographs can therefore be viewed not only as a campaign accompanying the exhibition, but also as an independent visual study of the country — spanning centuries-old architecture and the modernist heritage of the 20th century.
BENCHELLAL, MONUMENTAL | “Sculpting Past Tomorrow” continues the Sculpting Past Tomorrow project, previously presented at the National Museum of Qatar in Doha. In its Tashkent edition, Uzbekistan takes centre stage, alongside works developed directly from the artist’s experience of living and travelling in the country.
The exhibition will open on 5 September 2026 at the State Museum of History of Uzbekistan in Tashkent and will form part of the public programme of the Center for Contemporary Art Tashkent.
Project Team:
Designer & Artist — Mohamed Benchellal
Photography — Tim Verhallen
Hair & Make-up — Ilham Mestour
Production — Muzaffar Yusupov
Coordination — Sami Ra. Abd, Nodira Urvenus
Models — Fatima, Madina, Darina, Shakhinya
Exhibition Design — Anastasia Roussopoulou
The project is realised with the support of the Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation (ACDF) and the Center for Contemporary Art Tashkent (CCA Tashkent).
