I find consent, very sexy. I think before filming or photographing, there's usually a long period of talking, sharing, experiences and discussing boundaries. Especially with the subject that I'm working with. I mean there's a vulnerability, there's intimacy, there's cruising. It all requires the consent and it all requires very deep care. I think sometimes they carry these fragments of different stories rather than representing one single person and I will say I'm not really interested in exposing individuals.
Agil Abdullayev manifests his practice by blending conceptual essays, humour, and social commentary in a combination of video, installation, and performance. He examines representations of Azerbaijani identity and its relationship to the history, culture, queer thoughts, and radical South Caucasian traditions, often interwoven in exploring his multiple alter-egos and imaginary teenage-hood friends within post-modern narratives.
Abdullayev's interdisciplinary research-based practice frequently references and incorporates theoretical models concerning imposed gender roles and embedded social class inequalities and explores ideas surrounding class, cross-cultural and post-digital identity.
He creates films and visual essays to address contemporary social issues using storytelling techniques. Due to his childhood in abusive communities and schools, he grew up with multiple alter-egos and imaginary friends. Today he uses these characters to establish a dialogue on how eastern identity has been shaped by both eastern and western standards on masculinity and questions the certainty of existing political and social conditions and situations in Azerbaijan. The mild visuals and biting irony, and dark humour in the language focus attention not only on the perception and the changes in the context of contemporary society but refer mainly to the critical problems of social reality in which he positions himself as a commentator and offers his opinion.
