Das Lied des Akyn: Home

The book is dedicated to the origin of man's close relationship with the horse and their cohabitation, that began in the landscapes of Central Asia. The work is based on Jutta Schwöbel's photographic study of the comparison of the physiognomy of horses with the landscapes of Kyrgizhistan. Photographs of horsebacks become landscapes of Kyrgyzstan as they metaphorically suggest that the horse is both the actual terrain upon which we ride as well as the creator of the landscape in its stride. The Akyn is a man travelling around on horseback, telling news and passing on traditional customs and myths to the nomad inhabitants. The use of the Old Uigur alphabet for the modern Kyrgyz text, which visually combines the meeting point of Far Eastern and Western cultures, emphasizes the link to myths and an archaic world and their influences on our current lives.