Plight of Azeri Refugees Highlighted in New Photo Exhibition
-Jazz musician and photographer Alexander Mashin’s work presented at St Martin-in-the-Fields from 1 – 9 February-
-The exhibition is one of the highlights of the Buta Festival of Azerbaijani Arts-
Buta Festival of Azerbaijani Arts presents the work of photographer and musician Alexander Mashin at St Martin-in-the-Fields Crypt Gallery.
Born in St. Petersburg in 1976, Alexander Mashin is well known as a jazz musician and photographer. Mashin became a professional jazz musician from 1992 after joining the North West Dixie Band. Since then, he has collaborated with many of the best jazz musicians across the world. He became an art photographer in 2002 and has exhibited in solo and group exhibitions across Russia where he now lives and works.
Refugees
Jazz musician and photographer Alexander Mashin first visited Azerbaijan in 2003 – and immediately found it was a country full of stories waiting to be told. Unlike many visitors, he took the chance to visit the refugee settlements which sprang up as a result of the Nagorno Karabagh conflict and began to understand the human cost of a war almost forgotten in the rest of the world. His journey took him to Saatlinsky and Sabirabad, two regions in the south where Azerbaijanis fleeing Armenia and Karabagh have settled.
Among his most striking images, an old woman, sick and frail, is caught in a shaft of light as she prays. But, Mashin says, unlike most Muslims, who use their prayers to give thanks to Allah, hers was a rare cry for help. A man returns to his home with a shopping bag – but after a full day’s walking to and from the shops he can only afford a few meagre items: matches, salt, bread. Bringing the viewer inside the spartan refugee huts, made from rubbish, Mashin gently draws attention to the near-ubiquitous portraits of late president Heidar Aliyev, regarded as the father of the
nation, and a talisman of hope for an end to the crisis.
Exhibition Information
St Martin-in-the-Fields Crypt Gallery
1 – 9 February 2010
Saint Martin's Place
London, WC2N 4JH
Tel: 020 7766 1100
Opening Times:
Monday: Saturday 10.00am – 5.00pm
Sunday: 11.00am - 6.00pm
With the exception of the following dates;
Tuesday 2nd February: Gallery closes at 4.00pm
Free
Buta Festival of Azerbaijani Arts
For the first time Azerbaijan’s most celebrated artists will have their work showcased during a new London festival encompassing jazz, classical music, photography, poetry, film and art. The BUTA Festival of Azerbaijani Arts (www.butafestival.com) takes place until 7 March and is organised by Buta Art Centre (www.buta.ru), a foundation dedicated to promoting Azeri culture to the wider world. The festival includes world-famous musicians, artists, poets and photographers including renowned violinist Gidon Kremer; celebrated conductor Ion Marin; the artist Tair Salakhov; award-winning jazz musicians Shahin Novrasli and Tim Garland and photographer Rena Effendi. The festival will provide Londoners with a fantastic opportunity to discover Azerbaijan’s rich cultural offering and learn more about a country still unfamiliar to many.
Reader feedback:
Discuss this story:
