Established artist Imran Majidov, originally from Guba district, has lived in Baku since his youth when he attended the Azim Azimzade College of Art. Working across different media including painting, sculpture, carpet weaving and photography, his varied and complex practice focuses on philosophy, science, and invention. He is a member of the Azerbaijan Union of Artists and has traveled and shown his works across the world, including in Bulgaria, Russia, and Ukraine. Throughout his career he has exhibited widely across Baku, and recently held a solo exhibition at Bunker Art Ground in 2018.
Imran is a true visionary – his creativity flows into all aspects of his life, despite currently being a patient in a psychological facility for treatment for the past seven years. Even during this period of his life, his passion and drive to create propels him forward and his practice continues to grow. In the government hospital where he resides, he has built a studio where he paints, sculpts, and continues his artistic practice amongst the small creative community of patients at the hospital, which includes a radio station and cinema. His work is supported by the clinic and he is permitted to leave the facility to attend his art exhibitions, returning to the clinic after the events. While he has the ability to continue his art practice while in treatment, Imran’s time in the facility is very difficult for him. He naturally feels restricted by his circumstances, but his confinement has only strengthened his personal convictions about life and human agency.
Imran’s artwork is grounded in his personal philosophy that ‘anything you are looking for is already inside of you,’ a belief that reflects his rich inner life, hopes and aspirations. The mixed media works that he has created during his hospitalization are covered in fantastical landscapes, using combinations of human figures, animals, buildings, and words to portray a visual representation of his desire to contribute to society through his artwork. Many of his works also include studies for new technologies, machines, and scientific inventions which he wishes could be used for the good of humankind. A deeply empathetic person, Imran is vegan and does not eat any animal meat or animal products, which he struggles with in his current situation where his ethics are considered strange by his fellow patients. Aesthetically, his color palette is based on his mood – when planning works for his exhibitions, he uses brighter tones to attract people and draw them into his artwork. However, the breadth of his artistic practice shows the complexity of his situation and emotional suffering, the subject matter representing his desire to alleviate the effects of confinement and psychological treatment in himself and his fellow patients. Despite these obstacles, Imran’s determination to continue to create artworks to make the world a better place – both inside and outside of the hospital – is truly inspiring.
