Sanan Aleskerov was born in Baku in 1956 and lives and works there. He graduated with a degree in Journalism from Azerbaijan State University in 1982. He worked with scientific, applied, press and other types of photography. Between 1999 and 2009, Aleskerov served as Chairman of the Artistic Council of the Union of Photographers of Azerbaijan. Since 1996 he has been teaching, and is now working with documentary photography.
His work includes projects that observe urban, social and visual changes in cities and landscapes. Aleskerov’s work is held in the collection of the Museum of El Salvador Velasek, Reus, Spain, Library of the Photo, Surrey, UK, The Baku Centre of Arts, Baku, Azerbaijan and the Museum of Istiglal, Baku, Azerbaijan. It is also held in private collections in USA, Turkey, Austria, Germany, UK, Poland, Hungary, Denmark, Norway, and France.
For “Ornamentation”, he presented 18 digital photographs printed on plexiglass supports, approximately the size of small to medium windows. His photographs explore his personal vision of changes in the landscape and cities of Azerbaijan. The images have a nostalgic feel, saturated colours and a vintage filter. They deeply touch feelings of memory and nostalgia, views of aspects of the landscape and surroundings that are quickly disappearing. It is very easy to come to feel a certain warmth when viewing these photos, as if they were long lost memories, vague but familiar.
The plexiglass support lends an even more ‘romantic’ and nostalgic atmosphere, the images appearing slightly transparent, as if oniric visions or ephemeral mirages.
Click here to read more on Ornamentation. The Azerbaijan Pavilion at the 55th Venice Biennale.
All Photographs: Sanan Aleskerov, ‘Transparency of Simplicity’, 2013, 18 digital prints on plexiglass. “Ornamentation”, Azerbaijan Pavilion at the 55th International Art Exhibition, La Biennale di Venezia. Photos: C. A. Xuan Mai Ardia.
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