Cotton. Project “NOT white gold”

Cotton. Project “NOT white gold.” White Carrara marble, 150x70x50 cm. Permanent location: Oraq Garden, Almaty, Kazakhstan

The sculpture explores the complex story of cotton cultivation, revealing its dual nature – beauty and suffering, softness and cruelty. The work reflects the hidden costs behind cotton production, drawing attention to the continued use of child and forced labor in some countries of Central Asia, as well as to the profound environmental damage caused by cotton farming.

Cotton has been known as “white gold,” first in ancient Babylon, and later in other countries. But there are “two sides” of this precious material. Its fibers have shaped cultures, economies, and everyday life through textiles that are both functional and delicate. But this precious material carries also a darker side. Cotton cultivation demands intensive manual labor and vast natural resources, leading to soil degradation, pollution, and severe water depletion—most notably exemplified by the ecological catastrophe of the Aral Sea. The sculpture embodies these contradictions. The flowing, wind-caught form evokes the lightness and purity of white cotton fabric rising toward the sky. But with closer look the viewer can recognize the contour of a girl and disappearing Aral Sea, alluding to the exploitation of children on cotton plantations and the environmental devastation tied to water diversion.