Developing Human Capital, Building a Better Future
Azerbaijan | 2018
The collection consists of 5 photo zines created during the Art Prospect Residency in Baku, Azerbaijan. The photo zines present the city of Baku fragmented into pieces, exploring and gathering visual elements in the urban space that not only reflect the dominant visual culture but also address issues such as militarization and social stratification.
The text 'Developing Human Capital, Building a Better Future,' used in the publications, is the slogan of BakuExpo2015. I saw this slogan on banners along the fences stretching beside the highway in Baku. The highway separates the boulevard and the sea from the city, with only a few underground passages, requiring one to traverse a vast distance to cross the road. The dissonance between this reality and the official promise inspired me to explore the topic further.
PILLƏ organised the project in collaboration with CEC ArtsLink as part of the Platform Art Prospect initiative.