Hardcover, Coptic bound, second edition of 400. Design, text & images: Ilkin Huseynov.

"It was back in 1991, somewhere outside of Ganja, that I took my first glance at the world. The recent collapse of the USSR was affecting life in every imaginable way. The future was grim, local industry had practically disappeared and the people were fleeing abroad from a total loss of hope in any viable outcome. The void developed by this situation created the perfect seeding ground for cultural decadence.
That same year the Nagorno-Karabakh war was at its peak, claiming over 30,000 lives and forcing the surrounding population to be constantly displaced as the territories changed sides, and back again. The aftermath of the war is still clearly visible today, be it on the surface or deep in the core of the region and its people. I remember visiting my father on the frontline when I was just two or three years old. For such a young child, those endless and tedious hours in transit were simply unbearable. I eventually found a way to pass time, by letting my imagination run wild and weave itself into reality. Time went faster that way.
Those trips, and what they involved, are probably the source of my choice of profession and lifestyle. After several years living abroad, I decided to return to Azerbaijan to look back at my childhood. Such a trip could make anyone feel dizzy. Sometimes your expectations end up being unfulfilled and you are left with a bittersweet reality instead. My visits to my native region brought upon me both a familiar and alien feeling. Seeing my country, though estranged eyes, walking the Ganja streets, walking to hunt down my own memories because they turned out to be the only thing I could trust".

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