Baku, March 17, AZERTAC

YARAT Contemporary Art Space presents new personal exhibition “İNSƏN” (“HUMAN”) by multidisciplinary artist Chingiz.

İNSƏN is an immersive project by Chingiz that shows different aspects of society through the prism of personal experience. A prototype artist's studio and a live and continuously developing organism, the project represents an interactive exhibition interrogating the process of work. The main protagonist of the exhibition is the individual that both lives and changes in tune with the times and their actions.

The artist uses sculptures and installations that serve as indicators of various situations to uncover this idea and show transformations, influences and side effects of the time. The exhibition focuses on the individual and their surroundings, feelings, emotions, contrasts, and alternatives, highlighting the individual's core nature as a principal party to, and the driving force behind, all processes.

Autobiographical in nature, the artist develops the principle of personal space in a studio-like way and narrates the reality that surrounds him. The exhibition highlights the versatility of people but at the same time demonstrates that an individual does act the same way in recurring situations, hinting at their distinctive and inconsistent nature...

The show is dedicated to Chingiz’s father Tofig Babayev, who has inspired the artist in the most important way.

The exhibition is curated by Farah Alakbarli.

YARAT is an artist-founded, non-profit art organisation based in Baku, Azerbaijan, established by Aida Mahmudova in 2011. YARAT (which means 'create' in Azerbaijani) is dedicated to contemporary art with a long-term commitment to creating a hub for artistic practice, research, thinking and education in the Caucasus, Central Asia and surrounding region.

YARAT comprises YARAT Contemporary Art Centre, Museum of Azerbaijani Painting of the XX-XXI Centuries, ARTIM Project Space and an extended educational and public programme. YARAT Art Centre, a 2000 m² converted Soviet-era naval building, opened in March 2015 and is the organisation's main exhibition space. The exhibition programme features new commissions by artists responding to the region. It supports and provides access to artists from the region, while engaging and introducing established, international artists.

Museum of Azerbaijani Painting of the 20th-21st centuries presents a series of exhibitions with the works from the collection of National Museums and Galleries and organize a public and education programme of events running. The Museum collaborates closely with educational institutions and the museum's staff familiarises pupils and students with expositions through interactive tours by teaching them to comprehend and interpret art.

In October 2015, YARAT opened ARTIM, a central, accessible and dynamic space in Baku's Old City. ARTIM (meaning 'progress' in Azerbaijani) shows experimental practices and new work by emerging Azeri art professionals (selected through open call) and the international artists from the residency programme. It features multiple small-scale projects each year and hosts ARTIM Lab, a programme enabling young artists to engage in workshops and daily studio practice to generate new ideas and works.

Education has been at the heart of YARAT’s activities since its creation. With a dedicated public programme that includes courses, workshops, lectures, screenings, festivals, literature and theatre clubs and family weekends, YARAT aims to give access to broad audiences of all ages. The public programme invests proactively in building communities and nurturing a wider understanding of, and participation in, contemporary art.