Admiring a Re-Materialized Musical Instrument: Kazakh Dombra Sculpture’s Production of Space in Public

Dombra is a musical instrument ubiquitous in Kazakh daily life. In the northwestern regions of Xinjiang, China, various scales and styles of dombra sculptures are emerging in Kazakh settlements. This raises important questions: Why is there a need for re-materialized or sculptural representations of musical instruments in public spaces for people to admire? How do the form and scale of a dombra sculpture interact with the public consciousness of the space in which it is located? Based on fieldwork conducted since 2018, I have found that, on one hand, local Kazakh communities, fearing the loss of tradition, are constructing and placing dombra sculptures in authentic or historical styles in public spaces. This is intended to educate the younger generation about their cultural heritage and instil a sense of place and ethnic pride. On the other hand, several gigantic dombra sculptures have emerged, particularly after the concept of ‘heritagization’ 2 gained traction in 2008, which transcends local appreciation. These new sculptures help strengthen a sense of community within the Chinese nation. They reflect the contemporary paradigm of heritagized traditional instruments adapting to the internet-celebrity economy, all within the context of cultural commodification, and resonate with the national Belt and Road Initiative policy. Furthermore, this paper seeks to offer a new perspective on musical instrument research by arguing that dombra sculptures in public spaces should merely be regarded as objects, but rather as ‘hypercode’3. The texture and structure of these sculptures provide viewers with impressive physical sensory experiences and associative synesthesia that goes beyond their function as musical instruments. As viewers or admirers engage with the flowing textures of meaning in shifting contexts, their critical observation and exploration of the sculptures become a poetic, timeless and insight-provoking rite of admiration, through which spaces are created.