Ilkin Zeferli is an Azerbaijani multidisciplinary artist, filmmaker, photographer and composer. His work brings together film, animation, experimental photography, miniature world-building and music.
Photography and Experimentation
Ilkin has worked professionally in fine-art photography for more than ten years. His portfolio includes over 70,000 works available through international stock photography platforms.
Photographing nature at night, using long exposures and painting with light within the frame are central to his practice.
On nighttime expeditions, he creates light compositions and temporary installations, turning physical sets into atmospheric photographs without computer-generated imagery.
In 2013, Ilkin designed and built his own camera slider, which he used that same year to make the time-lapse project “Azerbaijani Nights.”
Miniature Worlds and the First Exhibition
Experiments with light, sets and unusual angles led Ilkin to create miniatures and dioramas, small physical spaces that become realistic cinematic scenes through the camera lens.
His unusual nighttime installations sometimes surprised or frightened local residents, occasionally drawing the attention of the police. This was one reason he moved from large-scale location shoots to building miniature worlds.
On October 29, 2023, his first solo exhibition opened at the Nine Senses Art Center. It was curated by the center’s director, Natalia Zhukova.
Ilkin exhibited 13 original installations he had previously made for fine-art photography, including work for international stock photography platforms.
Visitors could photograph the installations with their phones and see how lighting, smoke and camera angle transformed a small composition into a vast, believable world on screen.
The exhibition marked a milestone in his practice. For the first time, his miniatures were presented as artworks that visitors could interact with directly, in addition to their role in making photographs.
In November 2024, Ilkin presented another exhibition at Nine Senses, “Gobustan 3029,” curated by Natalia Zhukova. It imagined a future catastrophe in which mushroom-like plastic organisms overrun our world. In 3029, a human returns from another planet and greets the rock carvings of Gobustan.
In May 2026, Ilkin held another solo exhibition at Nine Senses Art Center, “When the Engine Stopped.” Natalia Zhukova also curated this exhibition.
Film and Animation
Ilkin works as a director, screenwriter and production designer. He writes screenplays and develops film projects with his wife, the artist Lala Ashumzade.
He leads the creativity and animation studio at Nine Senses, where he develops his own work and teaches children and teenagers stop-motion animation, creative thinking, photography and video.
His projects include “Harry Potter and the Mystery of Ninesensensburg,” “Zombaki” and “İki Daşın Arasında” (“Between Two Stones”), an experimental short film shot in the family garden.
The film was nominated for Best Experimental Short Film at the European film festival FERFİLM.
In August 2026, Ilkin was a mentor at SalamFilm Festival, helping young participants make their own short films.
Ilkin has also been DJing and making music for over twenty years. In June 2026, he composed an original piece for the choreography in the opening ceremony of Azerbaijan’s first school sports olympiad.
Creative Approach
For Ilkin, making art means continually looking for new ways to tell stories. Whether he is working in photography, film, miniatures or music, his practice is rooted in a desire to create unfamiliar worlds with real materials, light, space and imagination.
His work invites viewers to see how an image comes into being, catching the moment when ordinary objects turn into something entirely unexpected.
Vibe Garden holds a special place in Ilkin’s creative life. Here, familiar things spark new ideas, and nature, art and imagination constantly inform one another. In conversation by the fire or beside his miniature worlds, guests can meet Ilkin, hear how his works came to be and discover what usually stays behind the scenes. It is a chance to get to know his work and, for a moment, see the world through his eyes.
