Aladdin was born in 1956 in Ukuz, Dagestan (USSR). Lives and works in Moscow, Russia.
In his works Garunov focuses on the contraposition of two models of civilization - the technologically developed
West versus the traditional patriarchal East. He is concerned about the issues of national and religious identity,
the threat posed to it by globalization, and the fate of long-existing nations and cultures. Moloch is a project
based upon the photographic materials that pertain to the period of First World War. Starting from this, Garunov
develops a collage about the futility of all wars - and the phenomenon of war as such. While recalling the name
of Moloch, “a deity to whom child sacrifices were made throughout the ancient Middle East” (Encyclopedia
Britannica), he brings attention to the idea of humankind’s loss due to an ongoing death-politics; the fact that,
throughout history, the lives of millions of innocent people worldwide have been fatally affected by power
regimes in pursuit of their destructive political ambitions.
