Natural Selection

"Natural Selection" 2019 Video/music/sculpture This project grew out of real stories and people around me. I’m 30 now, and I can easily recall at least seven people who have dealt with bullying, domestic violence, struggles with identity, or pressure from traditional expectations. It’s not a story about victims — it’s about trying to cope, survive, and keep going. Most of them stayed silent at first. Thought they could handle it alone. But most of the time, they couldn’t. Today’s world speaks a lot about love and acceptance, but behind the slogans, the same old problems remain. Sometimes, it feels like we haven’t moved far from the animal world, where only the strongest survive. We can’t fix everything. But we can change how we respond. We can choose to notice, to support, to show up — before it’s too late. This work is about people, about silence, and about that moment where you either walk away — or reach out. # School. Boy. Poor. Mom was hysteric. Chipmunk cheeks. Laughed at. Beaten. # School. Girl. Blue eyes. Smart. Silent. Slightly crooked legs. Mocked. # School. Domestic. Boy. No parents. Uncle drank. Blonde. Silent. Laughed at. Beaten. # Domestic. Girl. Refused to obey. Beautiful. Wanted to live. Beaten. Gone. # Gender. Domestic. Boy. Gay. Wahhabi father. Athlete brother. Kept silent. Ran away. Beaten. # Intimacy. Tradition. Girl. Loved. Expelled. He stayed. Shame. Exile. # Bullying. Boy. Soft. Quiet. Beaten — for fun. #bullyingawareness #sound #ambient #dihajism #azerbaijan #bakuvian #art