SPECIAL MAKE-UP

Everything begins in childhood: it defines our interests, our hobbies, our traits, our talents, and so on. And so long as we don't lose sight of our childhood interest in some activity, great talent and ability will develop. And talent, in turn, can shape a child's future - both vocational and, as a consequence, social.

The artist Parvana Mammadova's innermost desire was to combine different trends and styles into a single idea, with the aim of creating beauty. That was how she got the idea of creating special projects, an integral part of which would be women's dress, make-up, the texture of decorative stones, various powders, and so on. Her passion for this did not prevent her from gaining qualifications in two areas of higher education - economic and legal - and then setting up her own studio.. And now Parvana Mammadova's latest project is women's dress based on her designs.

"It has always been a wish of mine that a woman setting out for some occasion of celebration should look her best.  The occasion should be a holiday and not just another source of amusement. But, most importantly, her dress and make-up should create an air of high spirits, a unique feeling about oneself…"

The little girl was speaking, and it seemed that her childish love for fairy tales and the magical transformation from grim reality into a colourful fiesta are still with her and would never disappear. Incidentally, the texture of the human body is also one of the elements that make up her work. By presenting a vanguard make-up and a creative make-up in this project, Mammadova has tried to do away with traditional concepts and help to create a holiday for them with the atmosphere of a fairy tale - a makeover - and to discover the individuality of each individual woman through such daring audacity. The special Swarovski face paint, powder and stones are used in the technique of applying the make-up.

"Snow Queen"

This work is a tribute to a season of the year. The make-up and a combination of the texture of loose, light fabric create an image of a beautiful but pretentious woman. She is somehow mesmerized by the purity of her inner whiteness. The sparkle of the crystals emphasizes the purity of our heroine's inner world.

"Year of the Goat"

This is a symbol of the coming year 2015. The veil and red caprone emphasize the temperament of unpredictable outbursts of emotion. A decoration applied by a special face-paint and red and black stones is used in the make-up. The author is clearly expecting a great deal from the coming year because red is the colour of love and hope.

"Gold"

Using gold leaf paint the girl creates an image of a sculpture in gold, whisking us back to the times of the sphinxes and the Egyptian Pharaohs. In the hands of the live sculpture is a catalogue of the author's ornate works, which she provides for anyone interested in the subject of creative make-up. Some of her techniques can be seen in the faces, cleavages, hands and body of the models.

"Peacock"

The author admitted that since childhood she has been fascinated by the beauty of this bird. It has a special kind of beauty and appeal. So in her works she uses elements which recall if not the tail then the tuft of the peacock. Parvana believes that there is something of the Ancient East about this bird - dazzling, magical, charismatic. Swarovski stones, gold leaf paint - the bird has conveniently parked itself on the girl's back and begun a dialogue with nature.

"Oriental Night"

A girl in a black veil and a hat, despatching us to the Ancient East, with the motif of a peacock's crown on her forehead - yet another variation of the common links between literature, the arts and the cinema.

"Bride"

A bride's national costume is depicted in modern style. A light, rolling red-coloured fibre is decorated with ethnic patterns. The gold of the decoration and along the edges of the scarf, which crowns the head and covers the hands, cascading down the back and forming the tunic, vaguely resembles an arxaliq [tight-waisted jacket]. The decoration on the girl's arm is especially interesting. The design is perfectly suited to "henna yaxti" [traditional Azerbaijani wedding custom using henna natural hair colour] or any festive occasion where it would not seem too pretentious or bizarre, for example a wedding or a birthday.

One would like to think that Parvana Mammadova, for whom the Natavan gallery has provided an opportunity to show her work, will direct her creative searches and artistic fantasies towards ensuring that our dreary everyday lives more often become a joy of festive makeover.