26 Jun - 10 Aug 14
ASTAR
Curator: Nailya Allakhverdieva (Russia)
Participants: Agil Abdullayev, Tahmina Ali, Farkhad Farzaliyev, Lala Gasim, Sitara Ibrahimova, Elturan Mammadov, Nazrin Mammadova, Samir Salakhov, Fidan Seidova, Zamir Suleymanov and Emin Azizbeyli
The artists participating in the exhibition are visionaries and eyewitnesses. They don’t judge but eagerly study the world they are in. They care less about the issues of national identity or close integration with European culture (which are so important for Azerbaijani artists of the previous generation) than their personal freedom and possibility of speaking out, unbound by the requirements of ‘corporate ethics’ or ‘political correctness.’ It is through this prism of freedom that they assess everyday communal life, Soviet legacy, traditional culture, and the long and fascinating history of their country – in all of this they are looking for hidden meanings, reasons, and the ‘lining’ of things. This is why the works by these artists are at once analytical and dreamy – imagination helps better than deduction in penetrating beyond the ‘lining of reality.’