Babi Badalov’s practice is primarily concerned with explorations that test the limits of language and the restrictions it can impose upon us. His ideas are expressed through visual poetry, art objects, installations and performance, and based on linguistic inconveniences that the artist himself has experienced while travelling. At the same time, his work questions the concepts of citizenship and migration and hence addresses current geo-political topics. Marked by displacement, Badalov’s personal life continues to inform his practice. Originally from Azerbaijan, he has spent his life migrating between Russia, the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
In I am IdealEast/ Refugee Crysis/ Kennedy (2015) Badalov enacts a kind of linguistic play, mixing various languages as well as signs, etymologies and puns. The ensemble of paintings on fabric reflects not only the artist’s years of mourning and imperilment, but also a utopian wish for a future hybrid idiom that is common to all.
The acquisition of I am IdealEast/ Refugee Crysis/ Kennedy is a first step in the process of developing the collection of the Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art, Teeside University. While the population of Middlesbrough is very diverse, with large numbers of residents from the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa, the majority of represented practitioners at MIMA are from Europe and North America. Presenting this group of works in the new, permanent Middlesbrough collection display contributes to making MIMA a space for diversity and cultural exchange, and ensuring that practice from diverse cultures is represented and encouraged.
