Fidan Abilova

Fidan Abilova (b. 2001, Lankaran, Azerbaijan) is a visual artist, photographer, and costume designer working at the intersections of contemporary art. At the core of Abilova’s practice lies the complexity of the human soul and the unseen layers of emotion. She transforms emotional ruptures, inner turbulence, the body’s hidden memories, and psychological depth into visual form, embodying the immaterial realm of the soul through the language of photography and performance.

Often merging photography and performance with installation-based structures, Abilova conducts conceptual investigations into instability, fragmented harmony, and the transformation of emotions. Her works have been presented in numerous solo and group exhibitions. Beyond her visual arts practice, she works as a costume artist for short films that have been featured at major international festivals, including the Cannes Film Festival, Sarajevo Film Festival, and Red Sea International Film Festival.

Artist Statement

This series explores memory as an emotional legacy, as well as a legacy embedded in the body and genetic makeup. “Mother” here has a double meaning—both as the biological mother and as Mother Nature. Both are fundamental sources in the formation of the individual and become carriers of invisible traces that are passed down from generation to generation.

Nature and the maternal figure exist in these works as parallel and intertwined structures: both protective and destructive. The pain felt in the images stems from the dual nature of this legacy. For what is transmitted to us is not only healing; trauma, fatigue, and internal tension are also part of this transmission.

Over time, these burdens accumulate in the body and the individual is confronted with this invisible legacy.

“Memories of Mother” presents heritage as a process that is not only preserved, but also transported and sometimes resisted—questioning the relationship of man both with nature and with the past he carries within himself.

Exhibitions

Group Exhibitions

• 2025 | Synchronization, Gazelli Art House, Baku, Azerbaijan

• 2025 | Flow State, Fly to Baku, Baku, Azerbaijan (Performance)

• 2025 | Eşq-i Nur, Nasimi Festival, Shirvanshahs’ Palace Complex, Baku, Azerbaijan

• 2025 | Free To Dream, Her Art In Action, Union of Azerbaijan Artists, Baku, Azerbaijan

• 2025 | Finite to Infinite, Museum of Azerbaijani Painting of the XX-XXI Centuries (YARAT), Baku, Azerbaijan

• 2024 | Sanat Ne Yapar?, Base Istanbul, Istanbul, Turkey

• 2024 | Seeing ourselves and each other, Her Art In Action, Gazelli Art House, Baku, Azerbaijan

• 2021 | La Musee, Tardino6 Art Platform, Baku, Azerbaijan

Solo Exhibitions

• 2021 | View from the Window, Lankaran, Azerbaijan