A reflection on the carpet in Faiq Ahmed's installations (Using phenomenology steps)

Faiq Ahmed's installations challenge the practical nature of carpets. His works have displayed rich colors and abstract patterns in the form of shapes that are decomposing and collapsing from the walls of the gallery, and the physical and material nature of these rugs is the main issue of the current research. Therefore, with the aim of identifying the characteristics of Ahmad's installations works, the question was raised, what is the structural phenomenon of space and time in the carpet-based installations of Faiq Ahmed's works? The data collection method of this article was done in a library manner by adopting a qualitative approach and an interpretative phenomenological method, which had a descriptive, analytical nature and a fundamental goal. The results of the research showed that the carpet, as the main medium of installations and its material, i.e., wool, has a dynamic and fluid quality that has created various aesthetic dimensions in relation to the phenomenon of space and time. The structural phenomenon of space in these works interacts with viewers through the coexistence of traditional culture and digital culture, and the artist provides a new reading for the audience; the internal logic of Ahmed's works is determined in relation to the space and a new discourse is formed in the game with the gallery space In all historical periods, carpet has always been considered as a functional object that this aspect has taken precedence over other aspects. Rug art in the postmodern era enters a new phase in which carpet is not only considered as a substrate and introduces new aspects in postmodern art; so that artists, both at home and abroad, have re-read the art of carpet weaving and innovatively expressed its conceptual or deconstructive expression. This study deals with the phenomenological study of the installations works of the Azerbaijani artist Faig Ahmed as one of the most prominent artists of the postmodern period who has created a new quality in the rug as an artistic tool. Among the works of postmodern artists who have considered carpets as works of art, the works of Ahmed have more variety and complexity that recognizing it for artists and researchers, this research can lead to the recognition of unknown qualities and unconventional applications of carpets in the context of postmodern art and provided a new platform in the field of research and application, which on the one hand provides new fields of study for researchers with the main concepts of this research. On the other hand, it will lead the artists of modern art to how to use carpets in the context of postmodern art. In creating his installations, Ahmed studies color, geometry and movement, which is accompanied by manipulating the pattern, color, or expanding the rug-based installations in dimensions and viewing angles and provides a new reading of the phenomenon of space and time of the carpet for the audience. Therefore, the main issue of the present study is to analyze the structural phenomenon of space and time in the compositional works of Faig Ahmed and with the aim of identifying the characteristics of Ahmed installation works, studies the nature of the carpet and the physical and material importance of Ahmed. In this regard, the question arises as to what is the structural phenomenon of space and time in the carpet-based installations of Ahmed's art works, and what space does the wool material in the form of rug media provide for the audience?  Phenomenology, rooted in modern philosophy in the mid-twentieth century, has a special capacity in the analysis of contemporary art, because contemporary art transcends both the historical teleological boundaries of art and cultural boundaries. New technologies along with new forms of communication have slowly penetrated all walks of life. For modern technology, there is no boundary between culture and tradition, and for humans there is still a boundary between culture and tradition. Thus, just as technology has permeated traditional living societies, tradition has permeated technology and expanded its boundaries. Through his installation works, Faiq Ahmed portrays the imposition of digital aesthetics on the traditional patterns of Azerbaijan. By forming a phenomenological reading of Ahmed's works, one can not only engage with the formal aesthetic features of the rugs, but also understand the inner logic of the works that is created throughout his collections through the specific physicality of the installations. Without wool and its unique material physics, the individual installations of Ahmed's carpet collection would not exist as they are, and the viewer would not understand the specific phenomenology of the works as they should. After creating this understanding, carpets can be reinterpreted through symbolism and history to create meaning, because these works exist in layers that go beyond the physical aspect. The works of this artist can be separated into three levels considering the spatial structure: Installation works on the gallery wall space, Installation works with the conflict between the floor space and the gallery wall, and three-dimensional Installation works such as sculptural works and reliefs. The structural phenomenon of space in Ahmed's installations creates a new discourse in the path of the connection between the game and the gallery space. The structural phenomenon of space is used in Ahmed's works by combining and linking past and new patterns in a deconstructive way; he brings the digital language to Azerbaijan's carpet weaving tradition by combining modern and ancient sensibilities to show the power of tradition through the expansion of digital technologies. The coexistence between traditional culture and digital culture is not without tension and sometimes leads to melting. Ahmed's works transform the viewer's experience of carpet installations through the manipulation of color and suspend the properties of wool as the main material of the works. Ahmed's installations also suspend the phenomenon of time so that at the same time is interpreted as meaningful spaces that establish a link between the past and the present. The compositions of the Azerbaijani artist make the way of reading time for the audience out of the linear and simultaneous reading, and the audience will have a reading over time to receive some of the works. Through the manipulations he creates in the texture of the carpet in his installations, Ahmed shows the audience the flexibility and breadth of the woolen thread by creating simple knots, which transforms the nature of the carpet not only in practical dimensions but also in terms of its aesthetic dimensions. It injects a quality of color into the wool and thereby suspends the viewer's belief in the physical reality of the medium; it becomes difficult for the audience to recognize the nature of wool as the main material of the rug, and finally the audience is delayed in understanding the structural phenomenon of space and time.  Finally, in order to consider the installations through the lens of phenomenology, the audience as a viewer can benefit from the inherent beauty in the installation works based on Faiq Ahmed's carpet: soft wool, bright color, their aesthetic evolution in space and time: Recognizing the forms of Ahmed's collections as a space for aesthetic.
 
This article is extracted from the author's research project titled "Reproduction of Carpet Art in the Postmodern Era" in Shahrekord University in 1400.  The author is grateful for the financial support of Shahrekord University's Research Vice-Chancellor to conduct this research.