BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 1. A collective exhibition titled "Axar Yaddaş" (“Flowing Memory”), offering a contemporary interpretation of traditional bath culture, has opened in the 17th-century Underground Bathhouse nestled in Icherisheher, the Old City of Baku, within the festival "Fly to Baku. Art Weekend. Sense the Future NOW," Trend reports.
Participating artists include Honored Artist Sabina Shikhlinskaya and young talents Nargiz Asgarova, Aliya Bayramova, and Timur Zaripov.
Curator Mansura Mammadaliyeva noted that the exhibition dives deep into the well of tradition, unearthing the rich tapestry of bathhouse culture and history in Azerbaijan, all through the flowing currents of water, memory, and purification.
Sabina Shikhlinskaya rolled out a video installation called Hamam (Bathhouse), which first saw the light of day in 2006 and has made quite the splash in around 15 countries.
The composition "Hamam" reconstructs the atmosphere of 16th-century men's baths and the rituals of purification before prayer. The piece features musical excerpts from the album "Nostalgia" by renowned composer and People's Artist Faraj Garayev, creating a rhythmic structure parallel to the visuals and immersing the viewer in a state of meditative harmony and ritual experience.
Human existence, in his vision, dances on the tightrope
stretched between sin and purity, with the hammam serving as a
liminal sanctuary where these two realms converge and
intertwine.
In this sacred stream, the liquid crystal not only purifies the
vessel but also lifts the weight from the spirit's wings.
Asgarova presented a unique nano video art piece titled "Su kimi ol" (Be Like Water), exploring the cultural and symbolic dimensions of water.
For her, water is both the beginning of life and the bearer of cultural continuity; it combines purification, renewal, and transformation. In this context, the hammam takes on a special significance: here, water becomes not only a means of physical cleansing of the body but also a ritual element in the process of preserving collective memory and reviving personal identity.
Using digital technology, the artist emphasizes the transformative power of water as a carrier of memory and identity.
Bayramova and Zaripov presented the video art "Axarın fövqündə" (Above the Current), which explores the theme of cyclical purification and renewal of memory. On the screen, the dance of water and the whispers of nature unfold like scattered pieces of a forgotten dream. Each frame flickers like a fleeting star, illuminating the present before it gently fades into the ether—a dance of cleansing and renewal.
The screen seems to transform into a vessel of water: images pop up, flow in and out, and vanish, leaving just a whisper of their presence. This shows that renewal isn't throwing the baby out with the bathwater but rather a subtle patching up of memory.
The calm, non-narrative sound accompanying the video does not explain the images but merely conveys the passage of time, a sense of breath, and a steam-like warmth. Sound and image together invite the viewer into the subtle space between remembering and forgetting. Here, purification becomes an act of both letting go and passing on—the washed memories merge into another stream, continuing their existence.
Azerbaijan's Baku is hosting the grand festival "Fly to Baku. Art Weekend. Sense the Future NOW," bringing together art, culture, and ecology from October 31 through November 2.
The project is organized by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and the IDEA Public Union in partnership with the Ministry of Culture of Azerbaijan, with Vice President of the Foundation and founder of IDEA, Leyla Aliyeva, as the project’s initiator.
The immersive project has turned Baku into a living space for contemporary creativity, dialogue, and discovery, presenting over 40 projects across multiple locations. Great care is taken to shine a light on the ecological health of our oceans and seas, brought to life through the brushstrokes of art. Water, the lifeblood of our planet, is the heart and soul of the Art Weekend, paving the way for a rich exchange between Azerbaijan and the global artistic community, where ideas flow like a river and creativity springs anew.
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