Shahnaz AghayevaAysel (2024)

'Aysel' is a nuanced exploration of womanhood by Shahnaz Aghayeva that blurs the lines between sacrifice and strength, presence and invisibility. The series centers on a woman who gives endlessly, her femininity expressed through care, labor, and silent resilience. Through a layered narrative, Aghayeva presents a figure who tends to her cow, decorates its stall, and plants flowers by the barn window — small rituals born from devotion, expectation, and solitude. The cow is more than a companion; it becomes a mirror, an extension of the self onto which the woman projects her own expectations of love and understanding. In their quiet unity, they form a protective, equal relationship. For the artist, this intimate world gives rise to a question: who better embodies femininity – the woman or the cow?