HOME IS THE SHORE

The shore is where you were born and bred, where you took wing and chased a dream - it is a philosophy of life and formation of the spirit. The shore is a place you can always come back to. Your native land and ancestral home are always waiting for you. The "Shore" arts-project exhibition was represented by the works of Petro Bevza, Petro Lebedinets, Konstantin Pavlishin and works by artistic goldsmiths of Kiev. This is what Yuliya Nuzhina, the curator of the exhibition, said in an interview with R+:

"The idea for the "Shore" exhibition arose during an exhibition of jewellery by our artists. As well as precious metals, the artists used sand (each grain had a diameter of 0.7mm!) from the shores of the Dnipr. It is treated as a natural material, sifted and given the appearance of a piece of jewellery and used to make ornaments. But since sand is a part of our native land and part of the shore where we came into this world, we decided that the exhibition would be much more interesting if painting was its integral part."

"Pilgrim"

A work by Petro Bevza. Four works under this title reflect different periods of man's life. Pilgrim, nomad, traveller: who do we see? Is it someone seeking new experiences or just being himself? It could easily be both. We can see the changing of the colours around the frail human figure, like the seasons of the year, dividing him into four periods, day by day, year by year. But does he himself change?

"Monastery"

A little girl, arriving at a monastery, stands in the yellow glow of the sunlight against the background of a suite of rooms. She has arrived in Baku. She is so small that she probably doesn't understand the difference between good and evil. She is simply drawn towards the light which puts her in shadow, as if bestowing a blessing on her for a happy future life.

Needle - 1,2,3

It is the work of Konstantin Pavlishin. It is a shore of memories, a small homeland, childish feelings of a small world defined by the outlines of a windmill, through the lacerated blades of which can be seen the blue twilight of the sky. We are all natives of our childhood. And only the emotional memory of the artist can capture so strongly the image of the vast world through the eyes of a child. A time when the trees were big and we were small always leaves an indelible imprint on one's heart. It is an imprint which in many ways defines the relationship between a child and the world.

"Reflection"

This is a work by Petro Lebedinets. The artist has exhibited three works under different titles, but they are interpreted in one definition - "Reflection", a word that entered the Russian language from the Latin and literally means "looking back". But in fact the artist is paying close heed to his own feelings, those which are linked with a perception and opinion of himself in the context of time and of the content and work of his own conscience - the structure of his personality, his thoughts, perceptions, emotional reactions and the sensitive assessment of everything that is going on in the conscience and soul of the artist and around him. The artist's palette is an undivided torrent of sensuous phenomena. By locking them into a structure of stable elements he forces us to focus our attention on them.

The art of the jeweller

The works of the Kiev artists who have created ornaments of jewellery give the exhibition a special charm. Rings, bracelets, pendants and earrings - all these are originals and are without equal, works which have received the "Order of Faberge" award. This organization was created in Ukraine by Tatyana, the grand-daughter of the famous Faberge. Her aim was to find the creme de la cr?me in the CIS and mark their achievements with the presentation of an order. We know that Faberge lived and worked for a long time in Ukraine and there are many Ukrainians among the masters who work on embodying his artistic ideas. And since working in gold is not traditional to the Ukrainians artists do not focus particular attention nowadays on this type of creative work. Azerbaijan, as a country with ancient traditions of the art of jewellery, attracts the particular attention of Ukrainian artists who do not wish to regard this type of creative activity as applied art. And, possibly, they have some justification in trying to prove that it can be regarded as an independent art in itself.

"Not so long ago Ukrainian archaeologists discovered in the Trypillia region ancient women's adornments on which there were many symbols that were not typical of the cultural traditions of the Slavs. It was assumed that they had reached us from the Land of Fire. And this is another good reason to visit Azerbaijan. The symbols and signs applied by ancient artists to their articles are being happily used by our modern artists and their masters in their works," Yuliya Nuzhina told us. 

"Columbus' Discovery of America"

A ring. Gold. Precious stones. Reminders of the times of the Incas, the Conquistadores, countless layers of gold and precious stones. Not to mention that it is flawless from the aesthetic viewpoint.

"Leonardo"

A beautiful ring made out of a small piece of meteorite. Leonardo da Vinci and his hand are set in gold as a symbol of a never fading classical art and as a blessing to those who endlessly seek new forms and ideas.

Necklace

A pendant. Gold, diamonds. An ancient symbol of the sun. Drawings inscribed between gold plates, probably relating to Azerbaijan's pagan times and people's beliefs in the god Ahura Mazda. A tiny deposit in the centre is sand from the Dnipr covered with gold. 

Pendant

A pendant. Gold. Diamonds. Gilt sand. Drawings discovered during excavations at Trypillia which take us back to the times of Ahura Mazda. "We believe that the exhibition will attract a lot of attention, including that of experts. It is interesting to find some common roots in our cultures. This is our first time in Azerbaijan but in this short time we have gained a huge amount of positive feelings about the city itself and the people. The embankment is extraordinarily beautiful! The streets and houses at night remind me of Paris. Baku is a very beautiful city! I see it as the European capital of the East. And I hope very much that creative projects of mutual interest will emerge between the artists of our countries," Nuzhina said.

Many Azerbaijani artists who are engaged not only in painting but also applied art have probably seen this exhibition. It is an art which Yuliya Nuzhina and her colleagues regard as completely independent and completely deserving of its equal place alongside the principal arts.