YARAT presents Homo Urbanus Europeanus photo exhibition

By Azernews

By Laman Ismayilova

A photo exhibition "Homo Urbanus Europeanus" by famous French photographer Jean-Marc Caracci opened at the Museum of Azerbaijani Painting of the 20th-21th Centuries on May 20.

The event is organized by the Delegation of the European Union to Azerbaijan and the YARAT Contemporary Art Space within the framework of EU Days.

The photo exhibition showcases 27 EU capitals and will be open to the public until 29 May.

At the opening of the exhibition, the Head of the EU Delegation to Azerbaijan, Mr. Kestutis Jankauskas, noted that "the exhibition of 27 European capitals reflects European diversity. It asks us "Who we are? What is Europe? Where does it start and where does it end"? The exhibition carries a "Yes to Europe" message and is a perfect way to celebrate EU Days."

The “Homo Urbanus Europeanus” exhibition showcases human characters in urban backgrounds. Its author, the artist-photographer Jean Marc Caracci, has captured urban landscapes in a similar way as an archaeologist observes, looks for, digs up, and tries to reconstruct primitive spaces. He observed the city inhabitants and their environment like a biologist studies a cell.

Each photo, by the accuracy of its framing and its crisp style, sounds like a hymn to the citizen. The featured characters walking, stopping, and weaving through the city, often lonely but no less proud and determined, do not show any kind of alienation.

As Caracci said, "the human presence, the silhouette captured with fineness, always in the right place and at the right time, gives the city an unexpected beauty and majesty."

The"Homo Urbanus Europeanus" project started in June 2007 in Bratislava. Until now 43 European capitals and metropoles have been visited in the framework of the project. Next year Jean-Marc Caracci is planning to visit Baku and include the capital of Azerbaijan in the series of "Homo Urbanus Europeanus".

The  exhibition has been held in 27 countries: Poland, France, Spain, Bulgaria, Germany, United Kingdom, Australia, Estonia, Czech Republic, Finland, North Macedonia, China, South Korea, Slovenia, Slovakia, Ukraine, Croatia, Austria, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Burkina Faso, Cyprus, Brazil, Ivory Coast, Zimbabwe, Trinidad and Tobago, Peru.

Notably, Jean-Marc Caracci (b. 1958, Tunisia) lives and works in Paris. In his early childhood with help and support from his elder brother, he started photographing and using the darkroom at the age of 15. When he was 20, he joined the army and was fortunate to be appointed the official photographer of the regiment. Being a self-taught photographer, during his time in the army he developed his skills and technical expertise in photographing people. He has always focused on Man as a representation of belonging, and rarely as a social object. His work is strongly influenced by photographers like Henri Cartier Bresson, Elliott Erwitt, Raymond Depardon… and also by the American painter Edward Hopper.

Exhibition is curated by Fakhriyya Mammadova.

Venue: Museum of Azerbaijani Painting of the XX-XXI Centuries, 2nd floor

Address: Bayil District, National Flag Square

The exhibition opens: Tuesday – Sunday from 12:00 – 20:00. Admission is free

Please note that due to the pandemic restrictions, the number of visitors are restricted to up to 8 people in the exhibition space

YARAT Contemporary Art Space presents the 1st edition of Baku Street Photography Festival. BSPF is an international photography event showcasing the best contemporary street photography and featuring the works of professional and amateur photographers in this genre. In the long months of isolation, everyone has missed the exciting events and learned to take a completely new view of the beauty of our city, its buildings, and its streets.

The 2021 edition theme is Streets in Focus as it will bring together a selection of works by photographers who see and capture the play of light in the leaves of trees by the faces of random passers-by, by industrial landscapes, if you can transmit history through a photo or simply like to capture moments, YARAT invites you to be a part of the Baku Street Photography Festival. Baku Street Photography is organized by YARAT Contemporary Art Space (Azerbaijan) in collaboration with street photographer and traveler Andrey Glazkov (Russia). To enter the contest please visit www.bakustreetphoto.az to upload images from your computer or send your works by e-mail [email protected]. When your submission has been completed, you will get an e-mail confirmation. Alternatively, you can post your image on Instagram with the hashtags #streetinfocuscontest #bakustreetphoto2021.

The festival contest is supported by Canon Azerbaijan and DiVi companies.

Guest Photographers (International) are Igor Mukhin (Russia), Jean-Marc Caracci (France), Daria Troitskaia (Italy), Konstantin Nossachev (US), Sasha Van Der Werf (US), Nikolay Dutkin (Russia), Rebecca Wiltshire (Australia), Mehran Cheraghchi (Iran), Guram Tsibakhashvili (Georgia), Levan Kherkheulidze (Georgia) and others.

Guest Photographers (Azerbaijan) are Rafael Gambarov, Asim Talib, Mirnaib Hasanoghlu, Shahvalad Eyvazov, Ilgar Jafarov, Rufat Abas, Eldar Akbarov, Emil Khalilov, Sevinj Aslanova, Emil Agayev, Agdes Bagirzadeh, Vugar Ibadov, Sitara Ibrahimbeyli, Nana Gafarova, Zaur Mirzoyev, Ilkin Huseynov, Majid Aliyev, Ilkin Yagubov and others.

Special guests of the festival are Lado Pochkhua (US), Elene Kapanadze (Georgia), Fariza Babayeva (Azerbaijan), Bahruz Huseynzade (Azerbaijan), Bahram Baghirzadeh (Azerbaijan), Vyacheslav Sapunov (Azerbaijan), and others.

The festival partners include Administration of the State Historical-Architectural Reserve “Icherisheher”, Icherisheher Museums Center, Azerbaijan State University of Culture and Arts, State Advertising Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan (ADRA), Azerbaijan Photographers Union, Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Azerbaijan, Baku Media Center, Maksud Ibragimbekov Centre, Baku Book Center, VARYOX, Arts Council Azerbaijan, Tbilisi Photography and Multimedia Museum, Tbilisi Photography Festival, Behruz Collection, Urban Street Photo Gallery, Art Factor Agency, Orkhan Aslanov Studio, United Coffee Beans, Barza Art Bureau, Tbilisi Fotografia.Ge Gallery, Tbilisi Container Gallery, PROBaku, DJ Rameen, and others.

Information partners areTrend.az, Azernews.az, Day.az, Milli.az, AZERTAC, Medeniyyet TV, CBC TV, Asan Radio, Nargis Magazine, Baku Magazine, 1news.az, Novaya Epoxa and others.

Visit the festival’s official website for news, program, and detailed information about the events.