Baku, October 1, AZERTAC

The Saatchi Gallery, an innovative platform for contemporary art and culture based in London, the United Kingdom, has successfully hosted a solo exhibition titled “A Room with A View” by Aida Mahmudova, an Azerbaijani artist and founder of YARAT Contemporary Art Space (Baku), on July 5-September 10.

Referring to Forugh Farrokhzad’s renowned poem ‘The Window,’ Aida Mahmudova continues to explore solitude, nostalgia and longing, capturing the essence of inner turmoil and the yearning for freedom through vivid imagery and introspective narration.

A Room With A View stands as a powerful testament to Mahmudova’s ability to articulate universal emotions with profound precision, and represents her closest realisation yet of complete harmony with her inner compulsions towards personal, social, and artistic freedom. Undergoing a turbulent period of reflection concerning her artistic approach and its social dimensions, she advocates for how fragile the balance is between self-autonomy and external influences.

Having featured over 70 pieces, including both previously exhibited and newly commissioned works, the exhibition occupied the second floor of the Saatchi Gallery. It delved into themes of (self)limitations, confinement in the earthly space, and the sensation of being encased within one’s physical form.

These images are all the results of Mahmudova’s durational approach — an artistic method defined by collecting, layering, and intimate attention to every detail. The absence of inhabitants emphasises the pervasive feeling of confinement, underscoring introspection inherent in these works. The uniform square format of the slide projector serves as a metaphorical window through which both the artist and the viewer peer into moments frozen in time, capturing the essence of solitude and longing. Sourced from personal photographs, she turned autobiographical memories into gypsum objects and sculptures, questioning how to bear witness to moments of liminality and transformation.