WORKS LIST AND CONCEPTS
Dadash Adna
Photos from various series
Print on forex and photo paper
Variable dimensions
Adna’s life and oeuvre, primarily known by his photographs and poems, are endowed with love. The main heroes of Dadash Adna, who is more known as a photographer, are ordinary people and their surroundings, their life, and “untold” desires. His photographs in portrait, landscape and still life genres deliver the stories he saw, the way he felt. Regardless of the theme and the genre, the focus of his photographs is deeply rooted in emotions and feelings.
Rashad Babayev
Darvish, 2014
Acrylic on canvas
190 x 175 cm
YARAT's collection
Eastern lyricism is often associated with mysticism of Sufi meditations in Rashad Babayev's works. In the delicately poignant painting "Darvish", a darvish, leaning on his staff and facing the horizon, imparts wisdom to future generations, just as traveling ascetics have done for centuries. The artist has clothed the figure in white as a disciple, who will now begin its hypnotic dance, spinning meditatively around its axis, freeing consciousness from time and space.
Nadir Eminov
Okay, boomer, 2022
TV, granite
50 x 50 x 50 cm
YARAT’s collection
Mehrin Alili
What If, 2021
3-channel video
Variable durations
YARAT’s collection
The videos examine existing and parallel realities by juxtaposing the scenes from the metropolis and country life. With the fast urbanisation process, people move to concrete cities in pursuit of opportunities for a better life, while stepping back from all the beauties nature offers. People often see migration not only as a new hope and a fresh start, but also as a turning point, while being heedless of the things they can face in an unknown place. The artist reflects her thoughts on how her life could have been different if her ancestors had not migrated to the city. The ethnic music that accompanies the video is from her family archive where her mother’s uncle plays the music. This music is aimed at helping a spectator dive into more intimate, closer experience. The artist also uses archive film “The Hero of Our Village” shot in Saribash village, Gakh district in 1971. The film captures scenes in which people, who live in harmony, project for themselves even brighter future.
Elturan Mammadov
“Human Habits” photo series, 2011-2018
Digital print
Dimensions variable
Courtesy of the artist
2011-2018-ci illərdə hazırlanan fotoqrafiya silsiləsi insanlar və ətraf-mühiti fərqli kontekstdən nümayiş etdirir. Bu fotolar insan həyatlarını şəxsi qavrayış prizmasından izah edir. Onlar, bəziləri üçün adi, digərləri üçün qeyri-adi və maraqlıdır. Bir-birinə uyğun gəlməyən rənglər, yeri dəyişdirilmiş obyektlər və bayağılıq ən gözlənilməz şəkildə görünür. Yerli mədəniyyət və kimlikdən ilhamlanan, Elturan gündəlik həyatın absurdluğunu, görünüşdə normal olan insan vərdişləri ilə çatdırmağa çalışır.
Ramal Kazim
Monday Morning, 2012
Toothache, 2012
Officer, 2012
Sanguine on canvas
Each 205 x 135 cm
Courtesy of the artist
Ramal Kazim’s works depict solitary struggles and anxieties that have become integral parts of contemporary living. Grimaced bodies seem to portray overbearing emotional distress that had to be physically expressed for a relative relieve. Dramatic poses are intensified by dark contouring, creating a strikingly honest and raw imagery.
Habib Saher
Waiting for Godot, 2016
Dried tree, plaster sculptures
Site-specific dimensions
YARAT’s collection
The installation, “Waiting for Godot” evokes the passing of time as the generic plaster heads fall off an old tree trunk throughout the duration of the exhibition. The heads smash against the floor and represent ephemerality of life and the transitory character of hard-engrained values. The work heralds reconnaissance and reconciliation with the past through continuous renewal.
Soltan Soltanli
Sea Season, 2019
Oil on canvas
100 x 90 cm
Towards the Justice, 2017
Oil on canvas
100 x 60 cm
Whose way is it: three blind men, three madmen, 2017
Oil on canvas
100 x 80 cm
Towards the Sea-shore, 2017
Oil on canvas
90 x 60 cm
Where is the Motley Sheep? 2017
Oil on canvas
78 x 65 cm
Courtesy of the artist
As a self-taught artist and trained philosopher, Soltan Soltanli seeks to use art in service of humanity by exploring of the existential questions of human life and social behavior through his work. In his practice, he explores both aesthetic realism and primitivism to capture the essential nature of his subjects. In his works, he references themes such as love, labor, death and human relationships, titling the artworks to give insight into his intention, revealing his own nuanced understanding of life. His messages are straightforward – he illuminates universal human truths to serve and inspire humanity itself.