Idem

With his self‑portrait produced by Dagestani carpet weavers, Shamil Ahmed enters into dialogue with the local tradition, bringing it into his contemporary practice. Carpets featuring a portrait of Imam Shamil—the leader of Caucasus resistance to Imperial Russia during the reigns of Nikolai I and Alexander II—are very popular in Dagestan, where he remains a symbol of independence and great courage. Modern portrait carpets are also produced today, commissioned by families who want to display portraits of their successful or famous relatives. By putting his own portrait on a carpet, however, Shamil Ahmed has created a cultural paradox typical of a multinational empire. His approach is very contemporary: as a post‑studio practitioner, he works exclusively with meanings and commissions others to produce his objects. However, as a Dagestani artist he is struggling to break free from the swamp of xenophobic stereotypes that prescribe a particular path and way of life for the men of the region. In this respect Ahmed is an independence fighter, only he is fighting for independence from clichés and not for those who produce them. As the artist explains, his work looks into “the construction of myth through a poetic whim, and society’s ability to legitimize the absurd.” The carpet is displayed alongside a video of an exhibition of carpets at the Dagestan Museum of Fine Arts.