YARAT Contemporary Art Space is pleased to announce a new exhibition project by YARAT residents titled "Doesn’t make Sense?!".

The exhibition displays art works by talented artists Fidan Nazim qizi and Aghamali Aliyev. The curator of the project is Aynur Abutalibova, Azernews report.

In the society in which we grow up under the influence of social constructions, our way of life is determined by the idioms that have been reinforced and perpetuated to this day and by people who are not "us", rather ourselves. When we grow up, we resign from everything we want to be, shape our real "I" according to the masculine and feminine moulds ordered by society, and become a statistical sample of society. Perhaps, if we go beyond this system, we will reach the calmness necessary to find our "real and ideal self" without taking into account the absurdities around us through small objects. For this, how can we get rid of these absurdities, can we be, should we be? This exhibition doesn't tell us any solutions, but instead, while showing the imagined chaos in society, it actually questions the quiet routines around us, the burdens passed down to us. Perhaps, choosing to adapt to society without thinking about any of these, we have forgotten who we are. Should we drown in this rainy desolation and become lonely, or should we see and feel the freedom that is flying around us?

Both artists look at this subject through their own eyes and choose to describe reality in their works in a sarcastic and poetic form. Remember, the choice is ultimately yours.

Aynur Abutalibova (b. 1996, Azerbaijan) graduated from the Geography Faculty of Baku State University in 2017. She completed her studies at the YARAT School of Modern Art in 2022 and received a residency grant. Presently, she serves as an independent curator of contemporary art and is a member of the Salaam Cinema Baku Art Space team. Her curatorial practice is centred on making art inclusive and socially accessible to all. She curates various exhibitions addressing societal issues, focusing on the development of modern art to shape new perspectives within society. She has curated several group exhibitions, including “Traces from Past Generations” (ARTIM Project Space, Baku, 2023); “Am I holy or sinful” (“Gender Hub”, Museum of Azerbaijan Painting of the XX-XXI centuries, Baku, 2023), among others. Additionally, she has collaborated on art projects with international organizations, as well as local and foreign artists, such as the “CEC Artslink Art Prospect Fellows” Curatorial Education program (USA, 2023) and Goethe Institut - EU4Dialogue's Cultural Management Academy (Bucharest, Romania, 2021), alongside Jessica Segall, Daria Pugacheva, Katya Taylor, and others.

Multimedia artist Aghamali Aliyev (b. 1996, Baku) graduated from the Aircraft Maintenance Engineering Faculty of Azerbaijan National Aviation Academy in 2014. He also participated in the 1-year program at the YARAT Contemporary Art School. His approach to the themes in his work is satirical and absurd, primarily working in animation and video-art techniques. The artist has been part of various group exhibitions and festivals, including “Between the Sky and the Earth” (Heydar Aliyev Centre, Baku, 2023); “Babil 2” (ARTIM Project Space, 2023); Gurama Art Festival (Baku Photography House, 2023); and the V Booktrailer Festival (winning 2nd place for “Penguins fly, Marie”, 2020).

Photographer Fidan Nazim gizi (b. 1991, Azerbaijan) obtained a master's degree in “Library and Information Science” from Baku State University. She also studied “Fundamentals of Photography” at Light and Composition University and attended the YARAT Contemporary Art School. Despite years of working in the library and later in accounting, she has redirected her focus entirely to photography in recent years. Frequently finding answers to her photographic inquiries in underground libraries, she creates handmade photo books influenced by these spaces. The primary theme of her work revolves around calmness, ageing, and emotions. She actively engages in projects covering various social issues. Utilising the “Cyanotype” alternative method, in use since 1843, she prints and tones her photographs in her home laboratory. Currently, she works as a photo editor and photographer at the BNW Light and Shadow Photography Association.

She has participated in numerous local and foreign exhibitions, including the final graduation exhibition of the YARAT Contemporary Art School students (ARTIM Project Space, Baku, 2023); Week of Art (Georgia, 2023); Kolga Tbilisi Photo Festival (2022); LMA (Portugal, 2022); Bursa Photo Fest (Türkiye, 2022); “A Letter” (F37union, Baku, 2021); CIP Festival (Greece, 2020), among others. Her works have been published in various publications, such as Baku Magazine (2024); “Women Warriors of Azerbaijan” (The Pictorial List, 2023); femLens Documentary Photography (2023); “Pourtant” (France, 2022); Gelatin Magazine (USA, 2021); BNW Awards, Light and Shadow (Japan, 2021); “Saudade” (Germany, 2020), and more.

Location: ARTIM Project Space, Icherisheher, Kichik Gala Street 5
Admission: Free

Exhibition duration: February 29 – April 7, 2024

Exhibition opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 12:00 PM - 8:00 PM