ondan-bundan
inquiring on culture from this and thatsMFA Thesis Exhibition
March 1 - 9, Experimental Media Space, OCAD U, Toronto, ON
Supervisors: Julian Haladyn and Veronika Szkudlarek, Simone Jones
2021 September - 2023 March
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The installation ondan-bundan: inquiring on culture from this and thats explores the intra-actions within Azerbaijan’s continuously changing identity, by fragmenting projections of Soviet Azerbaijani films onto found objects. The daily re-organization of the installation inquires into the relationship of (post)Sovietized Azerbaijani subjects, parallel to the formation of xalq mentaliteti (meaning ‘public mentality’). This research brings into conversation scenes from the films Arşın Mal Alan (Rza Tahmasib and Nikolay Leshchenko, 1945), Bir Cənub Şəhərində (Eldar Quliyev, 1969) and Ötən İlin Son Gecəsi (Gülbəniz Əzimzadə, 1983) to reflect on the construction of visual narratives as cultural identifiers in Azerbaijan. It combines Homi K. Bhabha’s theory on culture’s hybridity, alongside feminist theories from Nira Yuval-Davis and Giuliana Bruno to propose a textility of culture. One that derives from found remnants, fragments, reconstructions, refractions, and haphazards.
mixed media installation,
presented in this form, 2023.
Keywords: cultural theory, Soviet Azerbaijan, feminism, cinema, visuality.
thesis document ︎︎︎
see thesis proposal for the early stage explorations ︎︎︎
digital camera documentation by Kalidas Unnikrishnan.
March 1 - 9, Experimental Media Space, OCAD U, Toronto, ON
Supervisors: Julian Haladyn and Veronika Szkudlarek, Simone Jones
2021 September - 2023 March
The installation ondan-bundan: inquiring on culture from this and thats explores the intra-actions within Azerbaijan’s continuously changing identity, by fragmenting projections of Soviet Azerbaijani films onto found objects. The daily re-organization of the installation inquires into the relationship of (post)Sovietized Azerbaijani subjects, parallel to the formation of xalq mentaliteti (meaning ‘public mentality’). This research brings into conversation scenes from the films Arşın Mal Alan (Rza Tahmasib and Nikolay Leshchenko, 1945), Bir Cənub Şəhərində (Eldar Quliyev, 1969) and Ötən İlin Son Gecəsi (Gülbəniz Əzimzadə, 1983) to reflect on the construction of visual narratives as cultural identifiers in Azerbaijan. It combines Homi K. Bhabha’s theory on culture’s hybridity, alongside feminist theories from Nira Yuval-Davis and Giuliana Bruno to propose a textility of culture. One that derives from found remnants, fragments, reconstructions, refractions, and haphazards.
mixed media installation,
presented in this form, 2023.
Keywords: cultural theory, Soviet Azerbaijan, feminism, cinema, visuality.
thesis document ︎︎︎
see thesis proposal for the early stage explorations ︎︎︎
digital camera documentation by Kalidas Unnikrishnan.
entry from the hallway.
the stool (right) next to the gallery entrance (left).
the stool in use.
a view from the stool, looking into the main installation room.
view of the stool from inside the main installation room.
entry to the main installation room.
detail of white board located next to the gallery door.
The found materials hung in ondan-bundan were re-assembled every day of the exhibit. The following documentations are from the various iterations.
top view of the cart.
install on March 2, 2023.
install on March 6, 2023.
install on March 6, 2023.
install on March 3, 2023.
install on March 7, 2023.
install on March 7, 2023.
install on March 4, 2023.
install on March 8, 2023.
install on March 8, 2023.
install on March 5, 2023.
install on March 9, 2023.
install on March 9, 2023.
de-install on March 5
poster outside of the gallery.
the cart (center) loaded after the final de-install, ready to transport.