National Museum of Asian ArtNational Mall

Saodat Ismailova: Melted into the Sun

Now showing13 June 2026 – 29 November 2026Free

The Uzbek artist's first major US solo show: video works and photographs tracing Central Asia's landscapes, oral histories and Soviet-era ruins.

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On now All of October 2026

In one room, a film is projected onto horsehair instead of a screen. In Uzbekistan the material is hung near saints' tombs and woven into women's veils. The work, Her Right, cuts older Uzbek films to a soundtrack by Seaming To and is dedicated to the sacrifices made for Uzbek women's freedom.

This is Ismailova's first major solo museum show in the US, in Gallery 28 of the Sackler. You start with 18,000 Worlds, where ghostly 1920s documentary footage of Central Asia runs against a space launch site in Kazakhstan and Asia's largest solar furnace in Uzbekistan. The title film follows al-Muqanna, an eighth-century figure called the Veiled One who declared himself divine, through ancient ruins and industrial landscapes. Ismailova also chose two 19th-century ikat hangings from the museum's collection to show beside her work.

The title film alone runs 35 minutes, so leave time. Admission is free with no tickets, the museum is open daily 10am to 5:30pm, and the show closes on 29 November.

Look for

Her Right, on horsehair
Look for older Uzbek film footage, cut to Seaming To's score, projected onto hanging horsehair, a material traditionally hung near saints' tombs in Uzbekistan.
The Veiled One
In the title film, the eighth-century al-Muqanna, who declared himself divine, moves through ancient ruins set against modern industrial landscapes.
18,000 Worlds
The opening video sets ghostly 1920s documentary footage of Central Asia against a space launch facility in Kazakhstan and Asia's largest solar furnace.
The Letters
Photographic prints made from portraits of the artist's family, overlaid with poetry, religious texts and private thoughts in several languages.
Two 19th-century ikats
Vibrant Uzbek ikat hangings Ismailova picked from the museum's collection, shown to draw a parallel between weaving and assembling a film.