Monument that symbolizes the time continuity
Всемирный день велосипеда прочно вошел в праздничный календарь плане-ты
The World Bicycle Day has firmly entered the festive calendar across planet – on June 3, mass bike rides were held in many corners of the globe. The holiday, initiat-ed by the President of Turkmenistan, was supported by the UN General Assembly in 2018, and it gained international status.
The diplomatic missions of Turkmenistan in different countries organized bike rides, proudly flying the Turkmen flag along the streets of foreign cities. Foreign colleagues, athletes and residents of Belarus, Turkey, Romania, China, Russia, Uz-bekistan, France, Ukraine, the UAE and other countries seized the initiative on the Bicycle Day.
However, the main celebration events were observed in Turkmenistan – here, a new monument erected in the south of Ashgabat became the main gift to the residents of the capital. The sculptural composition called “Bicycle” is designed to memorize the historic date and become the cultural heritage of the nation.
The sculptor-muralist, People’s Artist of Turkmenistan Saragt Babayev, whose works are seen in many architectural ensembles of the country’s cities, has become one of the authors of this magnificent composition.
Work on the monument took more than one year. Verifying the scale and dynamism of the form of the structure, many sketches were created, which were developed over three months. And when the project was finally brought to perfection, detailed work on the erection of the monument began.
The sculptural composition is divided into several historically looped times. The lower part refers us to the ancient era, when the Great Silk Road were stretching through the mountains and steppes, and “desert ships” camels were the main means of transportation in these places. The prototypes of horn-shaped vessels – rhytons, found during archaeological excavations, zoomed several times symbolize a kind of support of the present young generation.
Another confirmation of the time continuity – cyclists that move around the ring are making circle around huge globe where there is a map of Turkmenistan. One side the map shows the achievement of the modern era, while another – unique historical cities and ancient monuments.
“The idea of the sculptural composition is that if you look at it from the side of the mountains, then behind the caravan of camels you can see the sands of the desert,” the sculptor Saragt Babayev says. “And vice versa, when you look from the side of the Karakum, the mountains appear in the background. Next to large camels, small camels as a symbol of generation follow-up, and the Alabay faithfully follows the caravan, and freedom-loving Akhal-Teke horses, as if out of stone prairies, are striving for freedom. A large amount of work requires more human hands, so my students helped to create the monument. Young artists worked and studied at the same time, having felt the full scope of this work.”
As the monument itself is the personification of the time continuity, so its creation has demonstrated the great meaning of work in which the honorable elder teaches the youth. On the day of the inauguration of monument, a mass bike ride started her, at the foot of the monumental composition. Thousands of cyclists rode the streets of the capital, where the bicycle, the symbol of environmentally friendly transport, would be memorized for many, many years.
Selbi Chariyeva
