Situated in a former Soviet-era naval building overlooking the Caspian Sea, the YARAT Contemporary Art Space in Baku, Azerbaijan serves as a centre devoted to showcasing contemporary art from the Caucasus and Central Asia region. As gusts of wind enrapture the centre on a cold winter’s day, one of Azerbaijan’s most renowned contemporary artists, Faig Ahmed’s exhibition, Ne var, Odur (it is what it is) showcases within the historic walls of the centre. Curated by the Artistic and Strategic Director of YARAT Contemporary Art Space, Björn Geldhof – Ne var, Odur exhibits a series of commissioned works conceived by Ahmed which examine gender relations and social practices within traditional Azerbaijani communities.

Over the past decade, Ahmed has received international acclaim for investigating and reinterpreting ancient carpet design – reimagining the methods of historic carpet weaving throughout his practice. The artist’s latest exhibition at YARAT, Ne var, Odur further develops his research of traditional cultural practices through mediums ranging from carpets and sculptures to film. “With this exhibition, he took a jump in his artistic practice,” explains Ne var, Odur’s curator Björn Geldhof. “Complicating the media that he works in and being much more profound and researched in the subjects that he’s dealing with.”

Upon entering the exhibition, one must peel through layers of ivory lace curtains entitled, Curtain In-between. The borders of fabric act as a gateway, enticing visitors into a domestic domain portraying a series of traditional Azeri social practices and cultural taboos manifested across the works exhibited in Ne var, Odur. A field of sugar cones, entitled The Biggest confronts visitors past the entrance of curtains. The sugar cones represent the traditional gift newlyweds are offered and consumed once the first male child is born, representing fertility and patriarchy in Azeri culture. “It’s an object that can exist in reality or in our collective subconscious” explains Ahmed on the sugar cones’ phallic forms displayed in various sizes, conveying the male hierarchal structure in society. Ahmed draws upon existing practices as well as the symbolic cultural meanings derived from rituals within society to provoke discourse and a potential transformation in perceptions. “For me, it’s interesting how art can influence the big part of the subconscious,” he says,“To use these symbols to enter into the collective subconscious and how it can be destroyed, modified or grown, that’s my goal with art.”

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