YARAT announces ЗАВОД exhibition
05 Oct - 17 Nov 13
Opening: 5th October form 18:00
Curator: Faig Ahmed
Bank Technique supports the project within the framework of the ARTIM programme
YARAT Contemprorary Art Space is pleased to invite you to ЗАВОД contemporary arts exhibition in the framework ARTIM project, featuring twenty-nine young artists. It will take place at Baku Air Conditioning Plant building on 5th October 2013 at 18:00.
Завод ('Factory' in Russian) is a catchy name for a new project that represents an attempt by YARAT to exploit non-traditional and alternative spaces. The project features works by twenty-nine emerging Azerbaijani artists and will take place at the long abandoned air conditioning factory.
YARAT, non-profit organisation, has previously used experimental and alternative spaces for its cultural activities, including a dockyard, a platform in front of the central bus station and a building under construction in the Ganjlik area of Baku. The air conditioners that were produced at this once famous factory back in the Soviet times helped to cool and freshen up the air in virutally every apartment in Azerbaijan and the neighboring Republics. Unfortunately, the dismantling of the Soviet Union also put production to a halt. Thanks to the enthusiasm of the artists, those empty production facilities, workshops and plants will be reanimated. They will be given new colours and dynamism as the memory of its glorious past is revived.
The Factory was revamped by a team of young artists that include Anar Shamsiyev, Ruslan Agazade, Arif Amirov, Arzuman Mirzasoy, Aydan Mirzayeva, Ayna Musayeva, Butunay Hagverdiyev, Chingiz Mehtiyev, Elturan Mammadov, Elvin Nabizade, Emin Azizbeyli, Fakhri Gurbanli, Farida Rajabova, Farhad Farzaliyev, Fidan Abdullazade, Gunel Eva, Zachary Guy-Frank, Habib Saher, Irina Berezina, Lala Gasim, Mehriban Shamsaddinskaya, Narmin Humbatova, Ali Huseyn Bagirov, Nazrin Mammadova & Diana Haciyeva, Samir Salahov, Sayyara Neymatova, Vusala Abdullayeva and Zamir Suleymanov.
This project was conceived and produced by YARAT Contemporary Art Space and curated by artist Faig Ahmed, who previously represented his country at the International Biennale of Contemporary Art in Venice and the Islamic Art Festival in Sharjah.
The world is rhythmical. Everything in it repeats, gathering momentum and finally passing into eternity, but only to be reborn with renewed strength. Industrialised locations the world over have the greatest mobility. These zones are changing and progressing with improbable speed. But all the same there are factories that can no longer be modernised, which means they are destined to become a part of industrial history.
The once famous Baku Air Conditioning Works has long since ceased production, however this location became an inspiration for twenty-nine young artists who visited it. I recall their faces, emotions and the avalanche of ideas that hit me on the day I had the notion to hold an exhibition right in this spot.
The artists found inspiration in almost everything, from the factory's history to strange items, the purpose of which escaped us. It seemed we had landed on another planet having travelled through time and space. This place generates a feeling of respect and reverence and of still being endowed with a soul. It would be no exaggeration to say that the spirit of those who once worked here still lingers in these workshops where run-down lathes stand in perpetuity like mystical ancient statues.
Young artists took part in the project whose fresh approach allows the historical value of this location to be appreciated in full. The contrast of the times and generations is reflected surprisingly sharply in the works of the young artists expressing their ideas in the factory building where their contemporaries once worked. The artists are working directly with an object of history and, by rubbing shoulders with, creating something new. The resulting object transmits the emotions of the artist who has stepped into uncharted territory. The artist is in fact conducting archaeological research but through the medium of art. The objects of his study are transformed in a fantastic way, creating a link between two completely different worlds and epochs. In a way, working at the factory is reminiscent of a form of ritual activity as this location possesses a mystical power as if receiving gifts and sacrificial offerings from art.
Address: 10 Alesker Gaibov Street, near Bakmil metro station
The opening will take place on October 5th at 18:00 and will continue to November 15, 2013.
More info: +994 (0)12 505 1414
