Leyla Aliyeva presents her work within 012 Baku Public Art Festival

Vice President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Leyla Aliyeva presents her work "The brain" within the 012 Baku Public Art Festival.

On 11 May in Baku avenue of Neftchiler in an open place near the Maiden Tower, work "The brain" of the artist, Vice President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Leyla Aliyeva was presented within 012 Baku Public Art Festival, the first festival of non-profit organization YARAT!.

The event was attended by first lady of Azerbaijan, President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Mehriban Aliyeva.

Vice President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Leyla Aliyeva gave information about her work.

"Good evening, dear guests.

The work which I am going to present you today is called ‘The brain’. And though you now see the sculpture of the heart, the main point in my work is to stress the confrontation of feelings and common sense and on the other hand to show the unity of our emotional and rational side.

The central figure of the sculpture is a man who gulps down his brain which means the celebration of feelings over common sense. I do not know whether it is good or bad but, probably, each of us experienced such a strong feeling at least once in his life.

I think that feelings and common sense are united though sometimes we think that emotional steps were thoughtless, our intuition and heart help us in our lives.

The stimulus for this work was the idea which I heard in one of the conversations that our decision and choice is often long thought of and balanced, and has a response in the depth of our conscience. Our rational and irrational component hints that this is the only choice. It cannot be always true but this is what we need in a particular minute and in a particular situation.

Probably, you will have different feelings while looking at this sculpture and it is very good, the most important for me is that there are no indifferent people among you.

Thank you all for your supports and special thanks to Aida (head of nonprofit organization YARAT!, Aida Makhmudova) who created this project and united different people equally possessed with the art of creation", Leyla Aliyeva said.

That is, the author refers the physical heart to the brain, and thus sharpens our perceptions whenever we are confronted with the contradictions and paradoxes. The very essence of this work is to consciously not to call a spade a spade, and thus, create a logical and semantic contrast. In this case, the question goes back to ancient spiritual teachings, where the Heart which has an inner wisdom opposes Brain exclusively as rational element which is separated from reality and portrays the brain as a lifeless organ.

In accordance with the teachings, the brain analyzes, dissects and details the whole into parts, while the heart intuitively grasps the essence, combines all the parts into one whole and eliminates all contradictions. However, in these ancient teachings, there is also a holistic concept as CONSCIENCE, which is a powerful psychic field that combines the hot wisdom of the Heart with cold rationality of the Brain. And there is even an expression such as "mind descends to the heart," which symbolizes the process of enlightenment of a believer.

Getting acquainted with the product, we perceive the "The brain" as a symbol of high spiritual synthesis. During the reign of Shirvanshahs, Baku, prosperous and famous as a symbol of Heart, became one of the most beautiful and fascinating cities in the region, an active center of intellectual activity, seen as a symbol of the Brain.

Baku can be perceived as a symbol of high spiritual synthesis. Art object "The brain", visualizing the physical heart from this point of view, appears as a symbol of the city of Baku.

Vice-President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Leyla Aliyeva has received education in world politics at the Moscow State Institute of International Affairs. She as the founder of Baku magazine is also directly involved in the development of Azerbaijani culture. Her characteristic and expressive graphic works are kept in collections of the Museum of Modern Art in Baku.

The works of Vice President the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Leyla Aliyeva were demonstrated in 2011 at the Second International Festival "Maiden Tower" in Baku, at exhibition "Foreword", organized by the "Space of Contemporary Art - YARAT!". The idea of ​​organizing exhibition "Fly to Baku: Contemporary Art from Azerbaijan ", held in 2012 in famous London exhibition gallery "Philips de Pury & Company" and famous Parisian mansion Salomon de Rothschild, belongs to Leyla Aliyeva. Her paintings "Pomegranate", "Pomegranate Tree", "Life Goes On" and the others with their originality find a way to the heart of a wider audience.

Festival 012 Baku Public Art involves 21 artists, both professionals and beginners.

They have reflected in their works some historical places in Baku. The project will run until 1 September.