Ilkin Huseynov
We Apologise for the Temporary Inconvenience
Baku is the largest city in the Caucasus region. The history of the city is closely related to the oil industry and several oil booms found their expression in massive growth and construction spree. The desire of the City Hall to reconstruct the post-Soviet city using its own understanding of aesthetics has led to demolition of “out- dated” buildings, to the disadvantage of those wishing to preserve cultural heritage and ancestral homes.
In a short period, downtown Baku started to resemble a huge construction site temporary fenced by banners depicting Baku’s landmarks and utopian landscapes. The banners with low-quality photos became so wide spread that it began to replace the real image of the city. The project presents a view on current urban policies and superimposes this with anthropological aspects of beauty. Banners with the future “perfect” city became an integral part of Baku. A curious viewer can only guess what is hidden behind this imposed beauty, which causes temporary inconvenience. And as it is known nothing is more permanent than the temporary.
