10 Jun - 09 Oct 16
YARAT Contemporary Art Space presents 300 Words on Resistance – a group exhibition including 7 emerging Azerbaijani artists: Farhad Farzaliyev, Ilkin Huseynov, Sitara Ibrahimova, Aida Mahmudova, Elturan Mammadov, Habib Saher, Zamir Suleymanov and 7 modern masters: Eldar Aghamalov, Anvar Asgarov, Rasim Babayev, Boyukagha Mirzazade, Tahir Salahov, Togrul Narimanbekov and Talat Shikhaliyev.
YARAT Contemporary Art Space presents 300 Words on Resistance – a group exhibition with emerging contemporary artists in conversation with modern Azerbaijani masters.
300 Words on Resistance draws from the belief that resistance is both personal and political. It is an essential social attitude in building civil society. Seven emerging Azerbaijani artists explore their perspective on resistance, introducing themes pre-occupying the youth of the country, such as gender relations, cultural stereotypes and socio-political uncertainty. The newly commissioned works explore both general and individual struggles facing the Azeri society today. These artists carry the voices of their generation, through times of economic turbulence and geo-political unrest, into the new century of capitalism and social awareness.
Throughout the exhibition, the new works are marked by and put into conversation with older works of the generation of artists from the 60s. The modern works, many of which have never been exhibited before, defined resistance during the Soviet era by going against the mainstream of Socialist-Realism and subverting propaganda art. These modern masters continue to act as a solid foundation and a source of inspiration for the younger generation of artists throughout the country.
Sitara Ibrahimova and Farhad Farzaliyev subvert the prevalent gender specific stereotypes through irony and humour in their video works, Reflector (2016) and What a Nice Place to Eat and Drink (2016). A similar urge to break free is expressed in a Non-Conformist painting by Talat Shihaliyev, Portrait of a Young Man (1961). These works are opposed by the seeming stillness of Tahir Salahov’s Homage to the Mothers (1986). The passing of time in this work continues in Habib Saher’s Waiting for Godot (2016), evoking a slow decay of traditional worldviews through art historical references.
Resistance takes a phenomenological turn in Aida Mahmudova’s Untitled (2016). Her new work made predominantly with gauze fabric, is a material expression of a personal struggle, which is shared with the viewer through its out of scale presence in the space. The sheer physicality of the installation finds its historical counterpart in the Expressionist work of Rasim Babayev, The Earth is Rich with Oil (1976).
The idea of a private mental space breaking through into a public political realm manifests itself in the painting of Anvar Asgarov, To those Disappearing on the horizon (1985). The relation to public space finds contemporary commentary in the photographic works of Ilkin Huseynov, We Apologise for Temporary Inconvenience (2016), reflecting on the superficial façade of a city and society in continuous transition. The identity shifts evident in the architecture of Baku are mirrored in an ideological struggle explored in the work of Zamir Suleymanov, Claim (2016).
As an end point of the exhibition, an unidentified black mountain marks a conflict that has defined the political reality of Azerbaijan as a nation-state since its independence in 1991. Further supported by a randomly generated top 20 playlist from Nagorno-Karabakh, Elturan Mammadov’s Unidentified Heights (2016) are controversially juxtaposed with a call for peace in Boyukagha Mirzazade’s 1945 (1976). This modern masterpiece suggests a timeless form of resistance – “НЕТ”.
This exhibition is curated by Suad Garayeva-Maleki and Björn Geldhof.
The exhibition is supported by works from Azerbaijan National Picture Gallery
Exhibition: 300 Word on Resistance
Location: YARAT Contemporary Art Centre, National Flag Square, Bayil, AZ1003
Dates: 10 June – 9 October 2016
Exhibition open: Tuesday through Sunday, from 11:00 until 20:00.
Admission is free
www.yarat.az