Living and working in Baku, Azerbaijan, artist Faig Ahmed distorts and deconstructs the patterns and shapes of traditional Azerbaijani rugs, incorporating modern motifs — glitches, melts, spikes — to create mesmerizing optical illusions.

A graduate of sculpture from the Azerbaijan State Academy of Fine Art, who took part in Azerbaijan’s first pavilion at the Venice Biennale, Ahmed and his merging of traditional and experimental textiles are a very real carpet ride.