Carpets

Launched in ???, Carpets is an ongoing series of low-relief sculptures – a quaint collection of Oriental carpets, usually hung on walls, but cast in bronze. In the early pieces from this series, the carpets, which display various scenes, hang flat, with only some of the tassels bending down or slightly jutting out to one side. Later, the sculptor added more motion to his carpets, which sometimes enhanced the depicted scenes. The carpets curl at the edges, and gentle waves seem to be rippling on their surfaces. Some of the figures extend beyond the boundaries of the carpets. Bright colors, used by the artist only in later pieces, also contribute to the overall striking effect. Most of the carpets feature military or hunting scenes, but there are also depictions of leisure and sensual desires. All of them are executed in the style of multi-figure Persian miniatures, abounding with delicate details, which in Zeinalov’s recent pieces have become ever more prominent. In this series, the artist explores the themes of time and the fragility of cultural heritage: there are holes in the carpets and many of the tassels are missing. Some of the works combine various themes; for example, some of the Oriental carpets feature Kalashnikov rifles, a reference to the artist’s travels across the Middle East.