Faig Ahmed will represent Azerbaijan at the 61st Venice Biennale with a solo presentation titled “The Attention.” Curated by Gwendolyn Collaço, a scholar of Islamic and Middle Eastern art, the exhibition draws on Azerbaijan’s ancient weaving traditions, blending historical practices with contemporary technologies. Ahmed previously participated in the country’s inaugural pavilion as part of a group show at the 2007 Venice Biennale. The forthcoming exhibition is organized by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, with support from the Ministry of Culture, the Embassy of Azerbaijan in Italy, and the Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum.

At the center of “The Attention” is the image of the carpet—a motif that anchors Ahmed’s practice. The pavilion will premiere a large-scale, site-specific installation, I Can Contain Both Worlds but I Do Not Fit Into This One (2026), which extends through multiple rooms and out onto the street. Another commission, Entropy Altar (2026), employs a quantum chip to generate random numeric sequences that are translated into linguistic and visual patterns. Taking inspiration from the 14th- and 15th-century Hurufi poet Imadaddin Nasimi, whose writings explore the mystical and numerical power of language, Ahmed links ancient cosmologies with the data-driven anxieties of the digital era.

In a statement, Ahmed explained that the presentation “reflects Koyo Kouoh’s curatorial legacy through the exploration of the language of art as a form of individual interaction with the viewer,” describing it as an environment for introspection.

Curator Collaço added: “The encoded structure of textile arts takes on new meanings to preface the visual idiom of quantum physics and the underwritten codes of the universe, which infuse humanity as deeply as the poetic verses we consume across time.” 

Ahmed’s works have been exhibited globally. Recent solo shows include “Faig Ahmed: Epoch 2011–2024” (2025) at Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum in Baku, “The Knot” (2024–25) at Sapar Contemporary in New York, and “Consciousness in Flux” (2024) at Maraya Art Centre in Sharjah, among others. He was shortlisted for the third Jameel Prize (2013).

“The Attention” will be presented in the 16th-century Campo della Tana building in Venice’s Castello District, directly opposite the main entrance of the Arsenale, and will run from May 9 to November 22.

Aisha Traub Chan is an editorial intern at ArtAsiaPacific.