This work, shown at the Venice Biennale in the Central Asian Pavilion installed for the first time, deals with the situation of suitcase peddlers in Kyrgyzstan, translating this into an installation with three monitors.
Following the collapse of the Soviet Union and the liberalization of the market, the population's standard of living rapidly deteriorated, acquiring previously unknown market mechanisms became necessary to survive. The economic shock paralyzed practically the entire local industry and led to a serious trade deficit. This gap was bridged by so-called "suitcase peddlers", who flooded the market with imported goods, a new form of trade that is dominated by women. The incessant migration between producers and consumers forces these suitcase peddlers to cover enormous distances, often crossing several borders and using practically all the possibilities of public transportation.
The Transsiberian Railway between China and Central Asia has developed into a preferred "trade route". In trains throughout Asia one encounters these women carrying plaid Chinese bags full of goods from China.
51st Venice Biennale, 2005

Muratbek Djoumaliev, born 1965 in Bischkek/ Kyrgyzstan & Gulnara Kasmalieva, born 1960 in Bischkek/ Kyrgyzstan ; live and work there.