345 Nights
كىچىلەر

Ongoing

online Installation, sounds in loop, poems translation
The acclaimed Uyghur poet Gulnisa Imin is serving a 17-year sentence.
Her crime: writing poems that authorities claimed promoted “separatism.”
But she’s still writing.

She once self-published a series of poems inspired by One Thousand and One Nights.
Like Scheherazade, who told a story each night to postpone her death,
Imin believed her poetry might shield her from erasure.

I’m not fluent in Uyghurche, so I asked my cousin to read one of her poems to me each night.
Later, with Munawwar’s help, I began gathering more voices—
recordings from Uyghur women in diaspora,
continuing Gulnisa Imin’s voice, night after night.

This is an evolving online exhibition, dedicated to the silenced female makers of the Uyghur region.
The collection of recordings continues to grow, and an installation featuring them is presented
during the Artistic Research Week at the Netherlands Film Academy, Master of Film, 2025.

Lorem Ipsum...

Sincere thanks to all the participants:
My cousin, Munawwar, Nefise, Nesibe, Gulnar, Rayhan, Tumaris Ghopur, Zeynepgul A ... more to be added soon.

This is a project from my ongoing artistic research ‘Do you know that I’m with you’,
Supported by Netherlands Film Academy Master Of Film.

Due to my capacity, translation of the poems are mostly done by Chatgpt, the only tool i know that can translate Uyghur poems decently.
So feel free to correct the translation if it’s wrong.

345 Nights must continue. I look forward to gathering more recordings in the future, to keep the fire burning.
Contact me for contribution: daryaaagul@outlook.com

Installation,60 year-old handmade textile from Uzbekistan, two sounds in loop, publication, 2025