Inside the Gazelli Art House Preview: Tales from the Caucasus

Caucasus Mountains, Image courtesy of Vyacheslav Argenberg via WikiMedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)

On January 22nd 2026, my boyfriend and I attended Gazelli Art House in Mayfair to see the preview of Tales from the Caucasus, featuring four artists from Azerbaijan and the surrounding region (Agil Abdullayev, Ulviyya Iman, Ramina Saadatkhan, and the Echo Activism Collective). The exhibition spanned three floors of the gallery. Reflecting on personal and societal transformation, they depict contemporary life. The artists navigate everyday scenes, often infusing them with the fantastical elements of folk tales and myths. While many of the artists are based in Europe, their works draw on stylistic roots from the Caucasus, engaging contemporary perspectives shaped by region, immigration, and a mixed, ever-evolving identity.

The Caucasus is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan.

Below is a peek inside the exhibition’s preview night.

The first exhibit that we visited was on the lower floor, featuring Agil Abdullayev's film Radicals in Between Trees and Dicks (2024). Above is a still of the film, which follows individuals navigating 'cruising culture' in Azerbaijan and surrounding countries (societies where homosexuality remains taboo). Abdullayev documents their own perspective and records the experiences of others in interviews, conversations, and visual recordings.

One floor up to the ground floor, you will see a wall on the left displaying two paintings by Ramina Saadatkhan. I was drawn to these works because they are unapologetically loud and do not hold back in expressing an inner world. This may be a personal response, or perhaps reflective of a broader trend. Still, as someone who works in photography, I often gravitate toward greyscales and muted tones, largely because I photograph cities. Seeing these paintings was therefore a pleasant surprise. Saadatkhan does not seem concerned with appearing restrained or adhering to current trends; instead, she embraces bright colour as a means of emotional expression. It is easy to forget how powerful colour can be in communicating an interior life. In these two works, I felt fear, love, tension, and excitement simultaneously.

On the third and top floor, you will find a small painting tucked away on a wall behind the staircase, slightly removed from the main display. The work is Smell as memory, also by Ramina Saadatkhan.

Here is my boyfriend enjoying the exhibition. He was particularly drawn to this painting and appreciated the way it connects the flower to the woman through the snake, forming a visual cycle of womanhood. I noticed he liked this piece a lot, so I asked him to pose with it.

Cover Image The End  by Ulviyya Iman

Gallery Photos Courtesy of Author

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Edited by Madeleine Rick, Art Editor