Under the Carpet

Faig Ahmed's psychedelic carpets are shifting the stereotypes of Azerbaijan   In his studio on the outskirts of the Old City of Baku, Faig Ahmed is hard at work deconstructing an Azerbaijani carpet, as he explodes the traditional two-dimensional pattern into a three-dimensional artwork. While most carpet weavers in his native Azerbaijan stick to the status quo, for the last eight years Ahmed has dedicated his artistic career to challenging traditional carpet-weaving methods.   This rebellious streak has punctuated the artist’s work since his university days. In 2004, Ahmed was reprimanded by the dean of the Azerbaijan State Academy of Fine Arts for a sculpture that depicts two women in an intimate embrace. The model, created as part of a university project, was ordered to be destroyed. Ahmed dropped out of university, a daring move in a post-Soviet state where few choose to deviate from the accepted path of formal education. ‘I wasn’t satisfied with the system of education and I wanted to do new things. I wanted to think, but at the academy we weren’t allowed to think for ourselves. They didn’t support liberal and contemporary ideas,’ says the artist.   In search of an alternative platform for his ideas, the 29-year-old artist joined a local independent art collective, known as Wings of Time, where he was given free reign to develop his own distinctive, boundary-pushing style. ‘There was no rigid system here, so there were no obstacles for ideas and materials. My hunger for materials grew as I started to take an interest in tubes, cables and fabrics,’ he recalls.   ‘Young artists would gather together and work on the projects they wanted to do. This was the kind of fulfilment I was looking for.’ Passionate about carpets, the artist is best known for his ability to transform traditional Azerbaijani rug designs into  multiple dimensions, from pixelated patterns to mind-bending sculptures. One of his most recent works, titled the Thread Installation, is a deconstruction of the intricate details of a traditional Azerbaijani carpet. In this piece, Ahmed weaves a wall using metre-long tubes of pastel coloured threads in a series of geometric shapes. Designed to give the illusion of a carpet being woven, the static installation invites viewers to experience the methods of rug making from a completely new perspective.   Ahmed explains that his affinity for carpets came about by chance, while he was researching Rune letters dating back to the eighth and ninth century. Describing it as his passion, he explains how ancient Rune alphabets were used before the introduction of Latin letters. ‘I was looking at a carpet once and I noticed the similarities between the symbols on a carpet and the Runic letters. That’s how I became interested in the details of a carpet. If you look closely, you'll notice that these carpets have many symbols and each symbol has a different meaning. Carpets have their own language.’   By reinterpreting the typical motifs found in Azerbaijani carpets with a profoundly contemporary touch, Ahmed’s artworks are not only playful but act as a social commentary on the rapid cultural shift his country is facing, particularly the role of women. ‘I want to present the change in Azeri culture, especially the emancipation of girls,’ he says, explaining how young girls no longer spend their free time practising the art of weaving. ‘Azeri girls have now developed other interests – they’re more interested in computers and social networks. A girl from Azerbaijan is no different to one from New York. They listen to Beyoncé, drink Coke and eat burgers from McDonald’s,’ says Ahmed.   Ahmed is part of a new wave of contemporary artists in Azerbaijan. The scene has developed since his university days, he says happily, explaining how emerging artists now have access to more and more opportunities. In order to bring Azeri artists to a wider audience, YARAT!, a non-profit arts foundation, was launched in 2011. Based in Baku, the foundation is an alternative to the main Azerbaijan State Academy of Fine Arts and aims to encourage artistic dialogue locally and internationally through exhibitions, lectures and workshops. Last year YARAT! organised the first edition of the Baku Public Arts Festival, featuring work by Ahmed, Rashad Alakbarov and Farid Rasulov.   Ahmed has been provided a three-storey studio by YARAT!, giving the artist buckets of space to work on his large-scale projects. But he still prefers to spend time in his own workshop in Baku’s Old City. ‘This one is much smaller and it’s located in an area that I personally love.’ However the Azeri arts scene is not ‘at its peak’ yet, according to the artist. ‘It will take five years. It’s not very clear but I know that it won’t be the same as the art we see in Turkey, the Middle East and Persia. We will be different.’   In a country like Azerbaijan where the contemporary arts scene is finding its feet, it’s interesting to observe how Azeris respond to Ahmed’s rebellious carpet-making techniques. ‘Some people accept it as a joke. Some get offended because they are not ready to see a traditional carpet being changed – but thankfully this group is a minority,’ he shares. He enjoys any kind of response he gets, whether positive or negative. ‘Any kind of art should make an impact because if it doesn’t, then it’s not art.’   Away from home, an international buzz surrounds Ahmed’s work. In the summer, he will be heading to the 55th edition of the Venice Biennale for the second time since 2007, for an exhibition of modern art titled Love Me, Love Not, which will gather artists from Azerbaijan and neighbouring countries in Central Asia and Turkey. ‘I was much younger when I participated for the first time. Now I'm more professional and my ideas have developed and have deeper meaning.’   Most recently he was nominated for the Jameel Prize, a prestigious global contemporary art award. Conceived in 2009 and hosted by the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the biannual award selects 10 artists from around the globe who produce work inspired by Islamic tradition. Ahmed was selected for two of his carpet designs, Hollow and Pixelate Tradition, in which woollen carpets are given a psychedelic makeover. The winner of the award will be announced in December and is set to win a cash prize of 25,000 British pounds.   When asked what he would do if he won, Ahmed, who is always searching for something bigger and better, says with a smile, ‘I would disappear for a month to be on my own and get over the feeling that I have achieved something huge. Then I would start working on something bigger.’   Photography: Fakhriyya Mammadova