Agil Abdullayev’s recent paintings continue an ongoing investigation into identity, intimacy, and the social and cultural frameworks that shape them. Since 2019, Abdullayev has developed a practice that draws upon his personal experiences and those of people he interviews while speaking to broader questions of gender, visibility, and belonging.

Abdullayev examines themes such as public and private life, gender, and the effects of social media.

Their compositions balance figuration and abstraction, using fluid forms, bold colour, and an intentional withholding of detail to create open-ended spaces for reflection. Characters and settings remain deliberately indistinct, allowing viewers to project their own associations and memories.

Locations in the titles do refer to specific cruising sites however. Parks emerge as living characters acting as a shelter, witnesses to secrecy, resistance, and survival.

Samad Vurgun Park is a pubic park in Baku dedicated to the renowned Azerbaijani poet Samad Vurgun

Nariman Narimanov Park is a public park situated in Qusar, Azerbaijan

Through this interplay of clarity and ambiguity, Abdullayev reframes traditional narratives of masculinity and challenges taboos around alternative expressions of love and identity within socially conservative contexts.

Abdullayev provides a personal portrayal of private realities, challenging preconceived notions of masculinity and social taboos in often conservative environments.

The paintings relate closely to the series of 3 moving image works Agil has completed in the last 2 years. The films are an intricate tapestry of queer cruising culture across Azerbaijan, Turkey, Georgia, and Kazakhstan, inspired by the artist's ongoing research started in 2019.