DREAMS OF HARMONY AND LOVE

The life of every person is like a kaleidoscope of events, different events, cheerful ones and sad ones, joyful ones and sorrowful ones. In the linear structure of time these events fall into a natural order, namely childhood, youth and maturity. Only a person's dreams can be regarded as ousted reality. There, in these dreams you can always find what you are missing throughout real time. Everything is evidently somewhat different in people whose life is determined by the creative works of fine art. Probably only they can manage to merge the structure of the different times to such an extent that it is simply impossible to separate the past from the present and the present from the future.

The works of Emil Aziz, an Azerbaijani artist living in Istanbul [Turkey], look just like this: a reinterpretation of his own creative experience inseparably linked with a take on the experiences of previous generations. Therefore his works are a quote-like references to the masters of realist painting, to impressionism and conceptual art. Edgar Degas, Claude Monet, Henri de Toulouse- Lautrec, Sattar Bahlulzada, Max Heindel… The list can be continued, depending on the associations evoked. But it is hardly likely that there is a need for that because the experience of past generations is only a reason for reinterpreting the present, namely our own place in life and the essence and sense of it. His works are quests to find beauty in everything surrounding him: the flowering meadow, the nocturnal landscape, the town streets and the way a woman looks at you. The uncontrollable stream of colours depicting the fullness of life, the harmony of the spirit and the love for everything surrounding him. The "My Dreams" solo exhibition by the Azerbaijani artist has opened in the exhibition hall of the Museum Centre in Baku with the sponsorship of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

WOMEN

"Clarity". The girl represents harmony girl, she is a dream girl. She herself is perfection. The grandiose pose, the lowered eyelids and the wreath of flowers decorating her hair. She is not with us, immersed in her own sensations. A dove has trustingly clung to the girl's cheek as if obeying her thoughts and sensations are embodied in the tranquillity and harmony. This is precisely how the world looks when love is alive.

"Blossoming". A mulatto girl looks as if she is about to emerge from a red stream of rosebuds, which form an evening dress. This red colour sets off the girl's dark complexion, accentuating the attention paid to the way the mulatto girl is looking at you. She looks right at you without even a hint of embarrassment. She was not unexpectedly caught out. She is having a dialogue with us. On her side she has youth, beauty and love of life.

"The carpet weaver". Behind her back there are various objects from the Turkic world. They contain coded symbols: a message from the past to mankind in the present, a message from the present to the future. She is not looking at us, but not because she is tired. She is at one with her own thoughts and fantasies. She holds a bunch of pink threads in her left palm. What message will she send to eternity with the help of these threads?

"Muse". The eyelashes are slightly lowered. The look is one of striving to get into the depths of her very self. She holds an open fan in her right hand. Women in the 19th century knew how to send messages to their admirers without even approaching them. The open fan is an invitation to dialogue, an invitation to us and to the author.

"The beauty thief". For the artist female beauty is a special subject. He likes to look into women's faces, to grasp their thoughts and their spirit, to admire the gracefulness of the lines. For him female beauty is one of the factors inspiring his works. But time is a merciless thief. It carries the splendid features of youth away into the past. A woman's beauty is a short-lived phenomenon, like the life of the butterflies that only live for a day, like the quiet rustle of the beautiful butterfly's wings. But what remains? The reflection in the mirror that turns into something in the past… 

"Gloves". None of the women look straight at us. Someone is standing with their back to us, someone is half-turned towards us, someone's face is half covered by a hat and someone has simply lowered their eyelids. The main element which has an impact on the viewer is the women's hands, swathed in long gloves. Women's hands are very expressive. They are not simply hands. They reflect the characters of the women, their state at a given moment in time and their attitude to the situation and to themselves in this situation.

THE CITY

"Taksim Avenue". Quiet soft rainfall. It is autumn. People are holding umbrellas. They feel fine here. They are not in any hurry to leave the street. Life is passing by in an unhurried manner here. Someone stops for a chat with someone. Someone is strolling towards his destination, There are numerous cafes and little shops here. Tourists and residents of the city can be seen here. They like it here. It is cosy, calm and gladdening, because the rain is washing away the traces of sadness and bad moods.

"The soul of Istiklal". Wet asphalt, the ringing bells of the tram, the street lit by night, people strolling along the street. Where is the spirit of [the district of Istanbul] Istiklal? It is spilling out everywhere! In the lights of the street lamps by night and in the shop windows, in the turquoise-coloured sky, in the patches of light illuminating the asphalt, in the cosy little tram. This spirit is in the pedestrians ambling past. And all this expanse represents the spirit, the familiar and unifying state of nature and man, the harmony of life.

"The Sarayburnu ferry". A fragment of everyday life in Istanbul, a city of tourists, of numerous legends, myths and businesses. Vessels big and small are floating along the Bosphorus, an ordinary, familiar picture. It would seem that there is nothing special about it. It is an everyday one. What is attractive about it? It is the realistic truth, the recognisable details, the sensation of life frozen for a while. The city is only just waking up and seething with the usual cares, things to be done and troubles.

"The Avenue…" And here is yet another street in Istanbul. It is somewhat similar to those in old Tbilisi [Georgian capital]. Even the rays of sunlight and the shadows are the same too. Probably all the serene, quiet little corners of our towns and cities are similar to one another. It is not just a question of the architecture. There is something imperceptibly familiar about them - the atmosphere, the mood, the state of the spirit. In this case the state of the artist's spirit, filled with light and a positive attitude to the world. The dreams of Emil Aziz are dreams of harmony and love for creative work, for women, for everything that is life…