What does a 14th-century Azerbaijani mystic poet have in common with quantum physics — and what does either of them have to do with a carpet?

In this episode, host Hugh Leeman sits down with internationally acclaimed Azerbaijani artist Faig Ahmed, whose solo exhibition currently represents Azerbaijan at the Venice Biennale, for a conversation that moves from the unspoken social codes of post-Soviet society to the philosophy of Nasimi, from the hidden shame of inherited silence to the healing potential of contemporary art. Faig's work — known for its radical transformation of traditional Azerbaijani carpet forms into something that bends, dissolves, liquefies, and defies — is as philosophically layered as it is visually arresting.

Faig opens up about growing up through the collapse of the Soviet Union and the identity vacuum it left be ...