The photographer Rena Effendi, who was born in Baku in 1977, began working as a translator for the "Azerbaijan International Oil Company", a consortium of the world's largest oil producers, at the age of 19. The impressions and experiences which she gathered subsequently played a vital role in inspiring the photographs featured in this exhibition. In 2009, she won the "Young Photographer in the Caucasus Award" for her work.
A pipe dream is an illusory or fantastic plan, hope or story. During a six-year project, Rena Effendi followed the route of the 1,700 km Baku-Ceyhan oil pipeline through Georgia, Azerbaijan and Turkey. Her photographs focus on the impact the oil industry has on the daily lives of the people of this region. She boldly confronts us with the hard-to-face reality behind the calendar images of the group's advertising campaigns. In November 2009, the photographs will be published in Effendi‘s first book, which she will personally present at the opening of the exhibition.
