Also marking the opening is an exhibition from YARAT’s permanent collection, with work by artists from the Caucasus, Central Asia and neighbouring countries alongside work by international artists whose work has a resonance with Azerbaijan. The collection itself has been built over the past three years and will continue to grow in part through special commissions for exhibitions at YARAT Contemporary Art Space curated by Suad Garayeva.
Shirin Neshat’s work has explored the complexities of cultural identity, gender and power to express a vision that embraces Persian traditions and contemporary concepts of individuality. In her recent photographic work, Neshat has focused on the portrait as a prism to reveal the cultural dynamics and personal histories of her subjects, exploring the narratives that can be ‘read’ in an individual.
This new commission, The Home of My Eyes (2015), builds on Neshat’s growing interest in portraiture. During time spent in Azerbaijan in 2014, Neshat photographed over 50 individuals who came from communities across the country, of ages ranging from two to eighty years old. While making the photographs Neshat asked participants a series of questions regarding their cultural
identity and their concept of home. The resulting responses are written in calligraphy that overlays the portraits. The assembled images make up a monumental installation which fills two entire walls of one of the 11 metre-high exhibition galleries of YARAT Contemporary Art Centre – a converted Soviet-era naval building.
As Shirin Neshat explains; “I consider the new series of images a portrait of a country that has for so long been a crossroads for many different ethnicities, religions, and languages. This series combines 55 portraits of men and women from different generations to create a tapestry of human faces which pays tribute to the rich cultural history of Azerbaijan and its diversity.”
YARAT Contemporary Art Centre is the first permanent space for YARAT, the not-for-profit organisation which has commissioned over 80 projects since it was created in 2011 by Founder and Creative Director Aida Mahmudova and a group of artists. The 2,000m 2 centre, converted from a Soviet-era naval building, overlooks the Caspian Sea and is a dedicated hub for contemporary art and art education in the region. Education is at the core of YARAT’s activities and a study centre, with a library and auditorium, will house YARAT’s comprehensive education programme featuring talks, screenings and workshops for diverse audiences from student artists to families.
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