Portraying human nature through Mongolian art

A nude woman holds half of her parted in her right hand. The rest of her hair cascades down the painting and you can almost imagine it touching the gallery floor. She uses her left hand to cut her hair with a pair of scissors. Her face is shadowed in deep blue and her lips are tightly pressed. The painting’s title is “Liberation 1.”

This painting is a hallmark of Jalkhaajav Munkhtsetseg’s art. An internationally renowned Mongolian artist, Munkhtsetseg was born in Ulaanbaatar in 1967. She studied at the Art Institute in Ulaanbaatar from 1983 to 1987 and then at the Academy of Fine Art and Theater in Minsk from 1989 to 1993. One of the most famous artists in Mongolia, she has had exhibitions in China, Germany, United States, Korea, Mongolia, Taiwan, Thailand, and Sweden. An exhibition in the Schoeni Art Gallery in Hong Kong will feature her art this month.

Munkhtsetseg's art is famous for its strong, independent women with yellow speckled eyes and long, highlighted hair. Often her work features steely, bare-breasted women who hold themselves up (quite literally) with tangles of their hair. At times, the women's hair plunges to their shoulders, swathing them in its warmth and protection as birds emerge from the tips.

“Hair carries the spirit of the women. Through hair, women express their power,” Munkhtsetseg explains through her translator. “Even as a child, I painted strong women with long hair. Back then, I had a childish fascination with hair. Now I realize that it is much more than that. Hair holds life—spirits.”

Munkhtsetseg incorporates traditional philosophies, symbols, and beliefs in her modern paintings. 

For example, the bird in her paintings symbolizes the human pulse. In traditional Mongolian medicine, the rhythm of beating bird wings is often compared to a pulsing human heart. So too, in Munkhtsetseg’s paintings, women’s hair often transforms into the fluttering beaked bird whose rhythm transcends the painting and enters the exhibition space.

Although traditional Mongolian medicine was prohibited during Munkhtsetseg’s youth, her paintings showcase its vitality (as in the case with the wing-beating bird). She admits that even when traditional medicine was suppressed, she felt connected to it. As a child, she fell on her head multiple times. Her parents took her to traditional medicine practitioners. Since that experience, traditional Mongolian medicine has made its way into her paintings, collages, and sculptures in the form of animal and plant depictions.

“Art and culture are big parts of how communities express themselves,” observesJessica Lumb, the curator of Munkhtsetseg’s most recent exhibition in Mongolia. “You can understand a lot about the community and its people through their art.Munkhtsetseg’s paintings express this, while at the same time showcasing universal human nature.”

Although Munkhtsetsegwas one of the first Mongolian artists to be internationally renowned, it hasn't been easy for her, particularly in the early years of the new economy.

“Twenty years ago during the transition, we were lost. We were struggling in our different fields, struggling to survive, and build businesses in a new economy. In those days we forgot about artists,” remarks E.Tserendolgor, Director of Tseren Tours LLC and one of Munkhtsetseg’s sponsors. 

He goes on to say that “It is difficult for artists to survive anywhere in the world. But during that time in Mongolia, it was even more challenging. Even though the climate was so discouraging, Munkhtsetseg continued to produce her art. She is a role model.”

Munkhtsetseg emerged into the international art scene during the past decade. In 2006, she decided to support a friend who was creating a website design businesses. 

“We didn’t realize websites could promote our work and make us internationally known. We just wanted to help a friend. So my husband and I created our own websites showcasing our art. Through my website, I became known. An American dealer who is based in Thailand found me. And in 2008, he set up my first international exhibition in Thailand,” explained Munkhtsetseg.

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Since then Munkhtsetseg has been touring the world with her art. Although her paintings, sculptures, and collages reflect many Mongolian beliefs and symbols, the story behind each is universal. Her art tells her own story as well as the story of all human beings. It portrays women who love, regret, and follow their spirited hearts.