Faig Ahmed is an Azerbaijani artist reimagining the traditional craft of rug making as a contemporary visual art. His works are an intriguing blend of old and new and his rugs look like they’re melting. We’ve never seen anything like it!
Ahmed bases his work on Azerbaijan’s ancient weaving traditions and follows the conventional rug designs for the most part. But at one point, he deviates from the pattern and adopts its distorted form. This causes the rug to disintegrate in various mesmerizing ways. Sometimes, the rugs are given a melting effect and seem to be starting to leak from the wall and form puddles of color on the floor.
Other times, Ahmed pixelates parts of the rugs or makes them look like they have broken apart into threads that are looking for an escape.
These intriguing rugs are inspired by tradition and contemporary art and the artist’s personal interests that include world religions, mystical practices, and calligraphy. Ahmed gained international recognition and was Azerbaijan’s representative at Venice Biennale in 2007. He also exhibited in various museums and galleries all over the world, including the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the Museum of Contemporary Art of Rome, and the New Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow.
