He has described himself as a ‘hostage to tradition’, had always thought his mind was ‘cold and totally impersonal’. But anyone who lays their eyes on the wonderful work of Faig Ahmed will instinctively know he is actually so far from that. A vibrant artist bursting with creativity, the Azerbaijani artist is totally reinventing how we all look at carpets. Faig will be gracing the World Islamic Economic Forum Foundation (WIEF) MOCAfest when the event rolls out in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from November 3-5.
Textile and embroidery are art forms that brings so much texture, both to the eye as well as the touch. Carpets – such an ancient art form that embodies both craftwork and dating back as far as the fourth century – has firm roots in Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, India, Pakistan and Persia.
Within those potpourri of historical backgrounds lay different worlds and styles of weaving, knotting, needling and tufting techniques. For thousands of years, both the East and the West have been royally charmed by the beauty of intricacy, the intimate and vast amount of work invested into each carpet resulting in finding places in homes all around the world.
So when a progressive artist like Faig Ahmed comes along to throw a curveball into the artistic tangent that everyone is usually familiar with, one just can’t help but sit up and take notice. And for good reason as well.
Born in 1982, the talented Faig graduated from the Sculpture faculty at the Azerbaijan State Academy of Fine Art in Baku in 2004. Since 2003, he has been working with various media, including painting, video and installation. Currently, he is studying the artistic qualities of Azerbaijani traditional rugs – he disassembles their conventional structure and randomly rearranges the resulting components of the traditional composition then combines these fragments with contemporary sculptural forms.
The end result is astounding to say the least. A self-professed lover of textile, Faig’s fanatical obsession with ancient traditions, cults and cultures, alongside his passion for meditation and travelling, shows in the way he patterns his work.
Faig recently made his way to India for the first time in 2014 and was so inspired that he made it known that it was ‘a dream come true’. Here in this interview with Aquila Style alongside excerpts from Artradar Journal and Textile Artist, Faig shows his spiritual self and how his liberal and deep thinking character has propelled such a wonderful talent to where he is today. Be sure to catch him at the WIEF MOCAfest on November 3 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Please visit Faig’s website today.
Artradar Journal: In 2014, you travelled to India for the first time. Regarding this journey, you said it was ‘a dream come true’.
Throughout my life, India has had a great impact on me. I was dreaming about it even as a child. When I was ten, I found a yoga book that mesmerised me. I started practicing and it naturally brought me to Osho and other beautiful practices and philosophies. I even started learning Sanskrit. I dreamed of travelling to India and finding a guru.
So when I eventually travelled there, I thought I’d be prepared, but I was not. India is a place that influences all of your senses at the same time. I mean, if something is dirty, it’s really dirty. If the food is good, then it’s absolutely divine. This happens with everything. I had this experience on my own and had difficulties sharing these feelings with my friends when I returned home. Then, I started observing myself and found out that my best friend (just like when I was ten) is myself. I had to live twenty more years to understand that. Now, I’m ten again and I’m happy.
Artradar Journal: Has your recent interest in Indian embroidery influenced your artwork? How?
In Delhi, I started doing my experimental artwork with Indian embroidery and I met two people who have really helped me with that – Valeria Corvo and Mala Shukla. Before my trip to India, all my artistic expression was directed outwards. After I went through the process of learning Indian embroidery, my expression is now internal and directed into myself.
Aquila Style: Who were your greatest inspiration when you were growing up and why did they have such impact on your style and approach?
I grew up with family values, and my parents were supporting all my experiments, and there were a lot of experiments.
I was interested in everything. Starting from the religion to the scientific experimentation at home in my room, from professional sports to business.
And all of this affected my perception of the world, it was very liberal. So I became an artist, it was the world of the professional experiment. I came to the carpet when I was already formed, and it was a conscious choice of opponent. And this opponent was the stability itself, and the stability was included into tradition, the carpets are the epicentre of tradition.
Aquila Style: Who are your current influencers that give you the greatest excitement?
I have no authority. I do not appreciate people, I appreciate the power. And the power is everywhere.
(From Textile Artist) As any other Azeri family we had carpets everywhere – on the floor, on the walls, in each room. I had a carpet in my room, too. I was always playing with the patterns of the carpet imagining there were roads, trees, dragons etc. One day when my parents left for countryside, I decided to change the places of the patterns and cut the carpet into pieces. Of course I never managed to gather the pieces together. I was waiting for my parents to come and punish me, but they didn’t. They just took the carpets away from my room forever.
Aquila Style: What do you think separates yourself from what is being showcased out there?
Every single thing.
Aquila Style: Imagination shines through in your work, most definitely. How does meditation help in your creative process?
Meditation is a process and the stop point of the process. There are a lot of different processes. What is happening at the moment is a process as well.
The warp look and depth in your work is very exciting. Where do you see your creative journey over the next couple of years?
Art works are the result of my experiments on my path. The next two years I will travel in India, Nepal and Malaysia, after that will be in the United States and Latin America. It will definitely change me, so I can cancel all plans that I’m making right now for two years.
Aquila Style: From carpets to installations to sculptures, you invest a lot of energy in various genres. Which excites you the most, if there is one?
These works are dividing by the genre of the modern art terminology, and so I can’t specify the genre. I am exciting about the process of creating ideas in my head, and moreover enjoying the process of observing an object of the inspiring idea.
Aquila Style: Fabric is a big part of your work. Where do you source your material and how does that sense of touch and feel figure in your work?
Materials for carpets are usually imported from Iran to Azerbaijan, it’s mainly threads and natural dyes, which are using for yarn hand-dying. From these components we are making carpets.
An opportunity to touch the works – is the part of my artwork. During all of my exhibitions the visitors are trying to touch the carpets. Touching the work is giving brain a different signal than the visual organs do. Through touching the carpet the brain receiving a signal, memorising the cozy home atmosphere, comfort and safety, as touching the carpet gives you exactly these feelings. But then, when you see the destructed carpet which gives no comfort feeling at all the conflict process started within the brain.
Aquila Style: Which are your favourite pieces that you’ve done and why?
I don’t have such works.
Aquila Style: What has been your personal experience of art as a profession and what keeps you going?
I can’t explain my own experience in few words. That’s all my life I think. But the only thing that is pushing me to go ahead is this experience.
Aquila Style: Are there any big exciting projects coming up in the horizon, and when?
I am so looking forward for the project which will take place in Rome, next February. This project is not related to the carpets. The project is about the transcendental experience, I went through and having at the moment. I will show the works which were created especially for the consciousness experiments.
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