In order to explore all the possibilities of our existence, we have to turn to art and the social sciences. While there are universal values of art, we must not forget that our literary and visual context is strictly local. The following point is essential: The reality in which a person feels himself/herself most profoundly is the artistic reality that leads us to the universal reality. Here, Aida Mahmudova takes us to a kind of landscape, to the reality of the landscape, to save us from the claustrophobia of the self.

 

Although the reality of the landscape that the artist created at the center of the “Heaven Can Wait” exhibition may seem personal and difficult to understand at first glance, the artist critiques the pathology of the self. On the one hand, life stands before us in all its anatomical reality, and in some cases, life appears as much more than a landscape. However, trying to separate life from the landscape will also lead us to a kind of alienation. All life, all personal or social history, takes place in a landscape, in geography, and there is always some place that resonates in our memory.

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Mahmudova states that geography is an essential dimension of civilization, and that people can be contacted within this geography. Two large canvases at the center of the exhibition tell us about geography and its diversity and importance, while also drawing our attention to its beauty and horror. These canvases, which symbolize the beginning and the end, also contain clues about the past and the future. The paintings, which are in harmony with the fragmentary structure of our age, mark an organism's return to its original point after its entire natural cycle (birth, life, and death).

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While the artist depicts the world by looking at humanity, she also affirms our shared experience through herself. It is a call made by Mahmudova: The power of art summons and affects our minds, nerves, memories, emotions, and, ultimately, souls. She expresses our existence in the world through the negative castings of the molds she took from her own body and the volumes they occupy in the void. She also conveys hope in her canvases and surface works that she hangs from the ceiling. In these landscapes, we can see our memories as well as glimpses of our future. In her works, she proclaims that through art, we can fight material and spiritual evils, and communicate the ideals of the past, present, and future. Mahmudova shows us the universal importance and power of art because she makes people remember their lives and their history with her works.

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Art no longer confines itself to describing, measuring, and analyzing the world as it appears. Mahmudova believes that geography and memory are too abstract to be presented in a naturalist way. While Mahmudova’s works convey that art contributes to the world's renewal, she states that modern time and space are insecure and introverted. Therefore, the world is depicted as an open composition on the edges of the canvases. Her works can be a means of discovery and expression for the audience; she calls for greater openness and creativity where barriers to meaning are removed.

 

With a courageous pioneering action, Mahmudova shows us that humanity can transcend borders with appropriate skills and tools. As a result, the exhibition seeks to cross physical and conceptual borders. Unless we cross these borders, we will not have humanist geography. A careful look at the works will provide us with significant clues to understand a little bit about how this can happen, and if we dare.

 

Firat Arapoglu

art historian (MA)/art critic &

independent curator (Turkey)