Historically, carpets play a significant role in forming Azerbaijan’s heritage and aesthetics. Different carpet schools share the same ornamental forms, such as geometric patterns, floral motifs, and calligraphic shapes, but some of the combinations are specific to certain regions. Today, the word ‘pattern’ is often associated with machine algorithms that recognise regularities in data. Orkhan designed an AI algorithm to analyse carpet designs and traditional ornaments. After processing the collected data, the neural network system is producing imaginary patterns that could have been Azerbaijani or similar, but all of them never really existed. The installation The Idea of Saving Aesthetics explores data as a fruitful and yet thoroughly problematic resource for artistic inspiration in the turbulent epoch of global nomadism, uneven cultural diffusion, and rising nationalist movements.According to historic data and memo records of European researchers and travellers, Mediaeval Azerbaijan was one of the major carpet hubs of the Orient, and after the Islamic Golden age, most of the middle eastern carpet patterns and ornaments became popularised by the western countries. While in Azerbaijan, carpet weaving was primarily a dominating form of art, with the traditions and skills carefully passed over from one generation to another, through developing and improving methods of making and spreading crafted symbols. By approaching these representations of our nation’s cultural history, with the help of AI, we get a dialogue between the future and the past, dystopian and utopian.In this exhibition, the artist highlights the source and meaning of ornaments with the background history and regional source of them. During the exhibition experience, visitors will be able to witness current locations and uses of the embroideries all over the world.

Exhibitions

Moscow Biennale, Azerbaijan Pavilion (2019)

Orkhan Mammadov is pioneering and one of the few innovative media artists from Azerbaijan + since their exhibition with YARAT in 2013; who have also emerged on the international scene since representing his home country in the Venice Biennial in 2019. Currently based in Istanbul, meanwhile travelling worldwide searching for new expressiveness in the post-pandemic world. He mixes eastern heritage representation, popular aesthetics, references to surrealism, and documentary conventions in his AI (artificial intelligence) & ML (machine learning) based installations.

His works reflect on the rapid and chaotic changes occurring in technology in the global context with rethinking Middle Eastern cultural heritage.

Mammadov’s works have been exhibited at several international biennales and triennials, including Moscow International Contemporary Art Biennale in Moscow, Russia (2019) and Venice Biennale de Arte in Venice, Italy (2019), Nasimi Festival in Baku, Azerbaijan (2018), Gamma Festival in ST. Petersburg, Russia (2018), IF Istanbul International Film Festival in Istanbul, Turkey (2017), ACCU Festival in Prague, Czech Republic (2017), Dave Festival in Dresden, Germany (2017).