The 61st Venice Biennale will feature the project "The Attention" by People's Artist Faig Ahmad, organized by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation of Azerbaijan, with the support of the Culture Ministry and the Embassy of Azerbaijan in Italy, Azernews reports.
The exhibition at the Azerbaijani national pavilion will be open from May 9 to November 22.
"The Attention" is Azerbaijan's contribution to one of the most significant international platforms for contemporary art.
At the center of the pavilion, a carpet, which is a key and recurring element in Faig Ahmad's artistic practice, will be presented. The carpet, associated with cultural memory and collective identity, becomes an element guiding visitors throughout the exhibition.
Conceptually, the project is inspired by the philosophical and poetic heritage of the prominent Azerbaijani poet and thinker, a representative of the Hurufi tradition, Imadaddin Nasimi. The project is envisioned as an immersive, multimodal artistic environment that unfolds through a sequence of interconnected spaces.
The project addresses themes of inner consciousness and reconnection in response to the uncertainty, anxiety, and information overload that characterize the modern world – here, art is seen as something that can arise from chaos.
"The Attention" integrates advanced technologies, including quantum-based systems, as well as neuro-reactive and data-driven processes, alongside traditional approaches. In this context, Hurufi thought and contemporary quantum concepts of reality are presented in direct parallel. While Hurufism frames the world as a meaningful code made of letters and signs, quantum physics describes reality as probabilistic, informational, and interconnected. In both systems, reality is not a fixed entity but forms through interpretation, interaction, and attention. "The Attention" clearly demonstrates this parallel, presenting quantum information as the modern counterpart to the Hurufi understanding of the universe.
The curator of Azerbaijan's national pavilion at the 61st Venice Biennale will be Gwendolyn Collaço. Her research and curatorial expertise focus on Islamic art, material culture, and cross-cultural exchange.
