The second artist to join art residency project in Khinalig is Vusal Rahim. Vusal is a well-known representative of Azerbaijan’s contemporary art platform.
Vusal Rahim’s artistic practice bridges conceptual and contemporary art, using diverse media to explore personal struggles, gender identity and social issues. Originally from Ganja and now based in Baku, he studied in the department of Theatre and Decorative Design at the Azerbaijan State Academy of Art and his interest in performance is clear in his work; his projects, whether paintings, video art, or sculpture, center around people and their stories, making them emotional and engaging. While he has worked professionally as a stage and costume designer, he has exhibited his art around the world including Russia and United States.
Vusal’s artwork examines social constructions of masculinity and femininity, as well as the experience of the human soul seeking to ascend the confines placed upon the body in which it inhabits. His background in theater is evident in the staging of his performances and videos through his layering of symbolism and aesthetics. Inspired by the ancient mythology of Azerbaijan, strong female characters often emerge as the heroines of his paintings, sculpture and video work.
In addition to his aforementioned multi-faceted creativity, Vusal is a member of VarYox family for already a year. He is mainly engaged in curation of Medeni Niyyet charity projects. During VarYox team’s visit to Khinalaly in 2018, Vusal Rahim was also a part of this visit. He had suggestions for Mountain Bike project created by VarYox team after that visit. One of his key proposals is implementation of Khinalig community’s multifaceted textile products, using traditional textile memorabilia to date. Valuable tea plants around Khinalig will be collected and put up for sale in embroidery packages embroidered by Khinalig ladies.
Furthermore, Vusal will present his performance “Bacarasan” for Dağların Başı Art Festival. It has been a while that he is working on this performance.
As a whole, within the framework of 21-day Art residency and festival, Vusal will be a close participant of range of events and workshops.
- Read the previous article written by American curator Leslie Gray about Vusal Rahim in the #Şəkilçəkən Series: Vusal Rahim.
- Read the article we have written about the Dağların Başı – Xinalig edition, a joint project by VarYox and the Tourism Agency.
