The latest series of work by Baku-based artist Regina Rzaeva, whose practice merges oil painting, isolated imagery and texture, builds on layered symbolism, captured memories and framed interiors. ‘The Secret Garden’ series, referencing both the title and conceptual framework of Frances Hodgson Burnett’s classic novel, is a visual meditation on the duality of perception.
Rzaeva’s practice navigates a space between object and interpretation. In this context, she draws inspiration from an encounter with a photo album titled ‘My Visit to the Castle’, found online. The anonymous, melancholic, and intimate images depicted various scenes: a garden fence, the profile of a horse, close-ups of plants, room interiors, and more. Rzaeva saw in them a metaphor for the self: fragmentary, enclosed, yet charged with symbolic resonance.
“The idea took shape as I discovered a set of old photographs documenting a stranger’s walk. I found this intriguing and began to explore the theme. Traditionally, rooms have been painted and interpreted as reflections of the inner self. This made me delve into portraying emotions through objects within different narratives” she explains.
Across the series, room interiors and domestic objects, like pillows, and vases, become surrogates for introspection. Rzaeva’s perspective traces the ephemeral rhythms of observance, delving into the subtle, shifting layers of seeing.
In Spring, a young woman’s gaze, thoughtful and melancholic, extends beyond the canvas frame, her expression caught and contained within the composition’s temporal realia. The painting notably draws from an old photograph, as Rzaeva reflects on the look of an unknown woman. White Flowers, on the other hand, continues Rzaeva’s visual dialect: elements such as the transparency of a vase, and the gradient of green fading softly into white signal key aspects of her practice. Also characteristic is her focus on specific elements within a broader image.
The artist’s method - incorporating thin, delicate strokes of oil paint applied to fabric - reinforces a sense of quiet accumulation. Rzaeva’s interest in literature and the passage of time echoes through the body of her work. Her previous series focused on an ongoing concern with sanctuary and self-containment. In ‘The Secret Garden’, she returns to the room as a curated space of intimacy and projection.
Though the series marks a new chapter, Rzaeva’s artistic preoccupations remain consistent: transformation, perception, and the fragility of presence. Currently developing her next solo exhibition, Rzaeva sees ‘The Secret Garden’ as the beginning of a larger visual dialogue.
Discover artworks from *‘The Secret Garden’* series in more detail in the ‘Artworks’ section of our website.