“My previous exhibition was held in Astana ten years ago at the “Has Sanat” Gallery. And over the past 10 years, I have hardly exhibited in my Homeland. The exhibitions took place in London, Warsaw, Moscow and Rome. And, I thought that the moment had come to share what had been created in the recent years. This is my creative work, which is dedicated to Tengrianism – the cult of human harmony with nature as well as the cultural code of the Kazakh people. We must not forget our roots. If earlier, a century was measured by the centuries, at present, the same development takes place in a decade. At such a time, we should not lose this code. Our ancestors were the wisest people. Their worldview, traditions, customs has very ancient and unique culture. They lived in harmony with nature, and this is very important”,  – noted Rafael Slekenov.

An author presented the works, created in the last five years at the exhibition. Rafael Slekenov is a member of the Union of Artists of Kazakhstan, winner of the “Tarlan” Prize, a scholarship holder of the Ministry of Culture of Poland, a corresponding member of Kazakhstan’s Academy of Art. The idea of the exhibition is to show and remind the audience about the beauty of purity and importance of the simplicity of the human soul. According to the author, a person is able to see the beauty of the world around him, by changing his lifestyle.

“The world has changed so much that currently, an individual has become a utilizer as well as a storage device. But let’s believe in the best. I wanted my art to evoke the positive emotions and call for a bright future. It is safe to say that I have always been a Tengrian with my whole being. When we were the kids, we had lived in a village, out of town, without colourful television. I am a human from the last century. And, I have had an opportunity to see how the era has changed, how the people have moved into the age of digitalization. And that’s why, these topics concern me”, – Rafael Slekenov added.

An exhibition allows the visitors to plunge into a magical world of the author. In the works of the master, there is the childlike spontaneity, vision of life through the rainbow prism, bright colours, inspiring a hope in everyone, who visited and discovered the “Light of Tengri”.

The exhibition at the National Museum in Astana is presented in the temporary exhibition hall on the 5th floor and will last until June 18, 2024.