Ilgar Nadzhafov
Ilgar Nadzhafov (1974–2021) was an artist, an actor and a writer. He used to work in graphics and painting, created video art, wrote fiction and non-fiction short stories.
Ilgar's works are deeply connected with his personal history, with memories of Azerbaijan, where he was born and spent his early years. All through his life in Saint Petersburg, the artist missed his family living in Baku and tried to keep in touch with his fellow countrymen, to be closer to the culture of his native country. This desire reflected in his art. In his drawings his family members, friends and fellow volunteers with whom Ilgar developed an emotional connection, sometimes found themselves in surreal situations––for example, turning into animals and ending up in distant countries. These works sometimes include bizarre narration with unexpected plot twists. The feeling of celebration, abundance and joy is what unites them. In terms of their color saturation and density of visual content, Nadzhafov's graphics resemble painting: large sheets are completely covered with bright spots that fold into ornamental patterns reminiscent of the art of the Middle East.
Ilgar used to say that his art allows him to "fly away to distant worlds." This is not hard to understand, since he spent most of his life in a psychoneurological asylum. However, thanks to his work with the Perspectivy Charity's art studio, Nadzhafov succeeded as an artist and found an opportunity to create many works and develop a vivid recognizable style. Taking part in the Theater without Borders project allowed him to realize his acting talent and visit different countries.
Ilgar's life ended in 2021. He died of coronavirus at the age of 46, before he could fulfill his dream of traveling to Azerbaijan to see his family.
Nadzhafov's solo exhibitions were held at the Goethe Cultural Center (St. Petersburg, 2010) and the Kropotkina-11 space (St. Petersburg, 2019). He took part in collective exhibitions at the Museum of Urban Sculpture (St. Petersburg, 2009), the Die Schlumper Gallery (Hamburg, Germany, 2015), Gorky Park (Moscow, 2016), the Museum of Street Art (St. Petersburg, 2018), within the framework of the Manifesta-10 Biennale (St. Petersburg, 2014), SAM Fair (St. Petersburg, 2019) and Supermarket Art Fair (Stockholm, Sweden, 2019). Nadzhafov's works are kept in the archives of the Garage Museum of Contemporary Art (Moscow), the Museum of Everything (Great Britain), as well as in private collections in Russia and abroad.
Ilgar's works are deeply connected with his personal history, with memories of Azerbaijan, where he was born and spent his early years. All through his life in Saint Petersburg, the artist missed his family living in Baku and tried to keep in touch with his fellow countrymen, to be closer to the culture of his native country. This desire reflected in his art. In his drawings his family members, friends and fellow volunteers with whom Ilgar developed an emotional connection, sometimes found themselves in surreal situations––for example, turning into animals and ending up in distant countries. These works sometimes include bizarre narration with unexpected plot twists. The feeling of celebration, abundance and joy is what unites them. In terms of their color saturation and density of visual content, Nadzhafov's graphics resemble painting: large sheets are completely covered with bright spots that fold into ornamental patterns reminiscent of the art of the Middle East.
Ilgar used to say that his art allows him to "fly away to distant worlds." This is not hard to understand, since he spent most of his life in a psychoneurological asylum. However, thanks to his work with the Perspectivy Charity's art studio, Nadzhafov succeeded as an artist and found an opportunity to create many works and develop a vivid recognizable style. Taking part in the Theater without Borders project allowed him to realize his acting talent and visit different countries.
Ilgar's life ended in 2021. He died of coronavirus at the age of 46, before he could fulfill his dream of traveling to Azerbaijan to see his family.
Nadzhafov's solo exhibitions were held at the Goethe Cultural Center (St. Petersburg, 2010) and the Kropotkina-11 space (St. Petersburg, 2019). He took part in collective exhibitions at the Museum of Urban Sculpture (St. Petersburg, 2009), the Die Schlumper Gallery (Hamburg, Germany, 2015), Gorky Park (Moscow, 2016), the Museum of Street Art (St. Petersburg, 2018), within the framework of the Manifesta-10 Biennale (St. Petersburg, 2014), SAM Fair (St. Petersburg, 2019) and Supermarket Art Fair (Stockholm, Sweden, 2019). Nadzhafov's works are kept in the archives of the Garage Museum of Contemporary Art (Moscow), the Museum of Everything (Great Britain), as well as in private collections in Russia and abroad.
Ilgar Nadzhafov's Tale for "My Little Mommy Made Lunch for Confucius"
My little mommy Shakha and my little aunt Toma made lavash with fish. Red-yellow soup with cutlets, bun with cutlets, colored cutlets with lavash. Another red lavash with grapes. And fish soup in a saucepan.
In the middle of this abundance stands the great Confucius. He is not standing alone, but with a large spoon. When my little aunt Toma and my little mommy Shakha made dinner for Confucius, they made lunch for themselves too. The feeling is that my little mother Shakha and my little aunt Toma have been to China. And the sun was shining there. And in the light of the sun they made themselves lunch. They had for lunch a sandwich with caviar and a fish, which was not very big.
There was a very large fish, who came for their lunch by bicycle. The fish was of Chinese origin. She wanted to meet my little aunt Toma and my little mommy Shakha. My little mommy Shaha had a large fork in her hands, and there was a red cutlet on the fork. My Aunt Toma had a large spoon in one hand and in the other she was holding a large piece of cutlet. Such was that lunch for my little relatives. That's a Chinese story. When my little relatives made a meat sandwich, they put cheese and a cutlet in the middle. Well, that's how the story went...
In the middle of this abundance stands the great Confucius. He is not standing alone, but with a large spoon. When my little aunt Toma and my little mommy Shakha made dinner for Confucius, they made lunch for themselves too. The feeling is that my little mother Shakha and my little aunt Toma have been to China. And the sun was shining there. And in the light of the sun they made themselves lunch. They had for lunch a sandwich with caviar and a fish, which was not very big.
There was a very large fish, who came for their lunch by bicycle. The fish was of Chinese origin. She wanted to meet my little aunt Toma and my little mommy Shakha. My little mommy Shaha had a large fork in her hands, and there was a red cutlet on the fork. My Aunt Toma had a large spoon in one hand and in the other she was holding a large piece of cutlet. Such was that lunch for my little relatives. That's a Chinese story. When my little relatives made a meat sandwich, they put cheese and a cutlet in the middle. Well, that's how the story went...