PİRSHAGHI Station

PİRSHAGHI Station is a multimedia installation developed by Atesh Hub and presented in the VarYox exhibition “Yaşıl Qatar”. The project brings together artists who live in neighboring settlements of the Absheron Peninsula and whose daily transportation route follows the Baku–Pirshagi railway line. Coordination of this part of the project was carried out by Agnessa Tariverdiyeva.

Railway transport is one of the most environmentally friendly forms of transportation. Its energy efficiency makes railways an essential element of the logistics of a green future. Yet traveling by train is not only about movement from one place to another; it is also an opportunity to observe changing landscapes, encounter different people, and feel the rhythm of life in motion.

What unites the artists of the project is that they live in neighboring settlements of the Absheron Peninsula, and their regular means of transportation is the electric train running between Baku and Pirshagi. They share a common interest in the landscapes that pass by the train window — spaces that contain numerous objects and stories.

One such place is the “Sand Bath,” a 19th-century structure located near the sea in the village of Pirshagi and recognized as a monument of history and culture.

In the video art “Road of Memories” by Tamira Ibrahim, the present gently merges with childhood memories. The old bathhouse — a place she often passed by in her childhood — becomes a turning point where bodily memory awakens and the linearity of time dissolves.

Nigar Safarova’s animation “Breath of Sand” visualizes a legend about the Sand Bath, which was once heated only by the warmth of a candle. As sand turns into light and the light melts like wax, her work highlights how fragile and endangered our heritage can be.

The video “Old Bath” by Elnur Babayev presents documentary footage filmed more than 30 years ago during a visit the author made with his father, the People’s Artist of Azerbaijan Rasim Babayev. The footage shows the Sand Bath — an architectural monument that had survived but was rapidly deteriorating — before its restoration.

In her video art “Déjà vu,” Sabina Shikhlinskaya returns in her memories to an artistic action dedicated to the Sand Bath in 1999, in which she participated together with friends from the Labyrinth artists’ group. Today she continues this performance, once again dedicating it to this unique architectural monument of Absheron.

“Green Train” Group Exhibition
Location: Railway Museum, Baku, Azerbaijan
Dates: 25 September – 25 October 2025
Curators: Sitara Ibrahimbeili and Ayna Moazzen
Project Manager: Tanzila Bagirova (VarYox team)