Discovering the land of our origin
Following Thor Heyerdahl’s footstep to Azerbaijan
Aker Brygge, May 16th – June 6th 2021
A cultural bridge building exhibition by CAN
From May 16th – June 6th 2021, you can visit the exhibition “Discovering the land of our origin” at Aker Brygge. The exhibition is located by the main entrance to Aker Brygge Shopping Mall.
En kulturell brobyggings utstilling av CAN
Fra 16 mai – 6 juni 2021 finner du utstillingen «Discovering the land of our origin» på Aker Brygge. Utsillingen er plassert ved hovedinngangen til Aker Brygge Shopping.
Experience Azerbaijan through our unique bridge-building project.
As a creative team from Norway, we traveled down to Azerbaijan to follow
in the footsteps of Thor Heyerdahl.
Opplev Aserbajdsjan gjennom vårt unike brobygger prosjekt. Som et kreativt team fra Norge reiste vi ned til Aserbajdsjan for å følge Thor Heyerdahl sine fotspor.
“Borders? I have never seen one. But I have heard they exist in the minds of some people.”
— Thor Heyerdahl
“Grenser? Jeg har aldri sett en, men jeg har hørt at de eksisterer i tankene til noen mennesker.”
Following Thor Heyerdahl’s footsteps to Azerbaijan
Follow the footsteps of Thor Heyerdahl to Azerbaijan to find the similarities between the two nations. The project is inspired by the beautiful friendship between Thor Heyerdahl and Heydar Aliyev, which started in August 1981. Their friendships inspired us to find the similarities between the two nations.
Følg Thor Heyerdahls fotspor til Aserbajdsjan
Følg fotsporene til Thor Heyerdahl til Aserbajdsjan for å finne likhetene mellom de to nasjonene. Prosjektet er inspirert av det vakre vennskapet mellom Thor Heyerdahl og Heydar Aliyev, som startet i august 1981. Vennskapet deres inspirerte oss til å finne likhetene mellom de to nasjonene.
1994
1994
1994
Guivami Rahimli – 2000
Thor Heyerdahl‘s Search for Odin
After studying the Gobustan petroglyphs, Thor Heyerdahl discovered the similarity of the ships depicted on the rocks to the vessels used by the Vikings, and concluded that the Vikings had begun their journey westward from Azerbaijan.
Thor Heyerdahl, Jakten på Odin
Etter å ha studert Gobustan runene, oppdaget Thor Heyerdahl likheten mellom skipene som ble avbildet på klippene og fartøyene som ble brukt av vikingene, og konkluderte med at vikingene hadde begynt reisen vestover fra Aserbajdsjan.
We followed Thor Heyerdahl’s footsteps to Azerbaijan
We followed Thor Heyerdahl’s footsteps in order to find the similarities between Norway and Azerbaijan. We created a love story scenario, where two persons from two different cultures meet in a love series wearing traditional costumes from Norway and Azerbaijan.
Vi fulgte Thor Heyerdahl’s fotspor til Aserbajdsjan
Vi fulgte Thor Heyerdahl’s fotspor for å finne likhetene mellom Norge og Aserbajdsjan. Gjennom en historisk scenario, møter to personer fra to forskjellige kulturer i en kjærlighetsserie iført tradisjonelle drakter fra Norge og Aserbajdsjan.
Thor Heyerdahl
The first time I came to Azerbaijan was in 1981. … I came here because I established good contacts with scientists in in this country, and I had learned that you had something quite sensational in Gobustan. I came to Azerbaijan as a guest of the Academy of Science in Azerbaijan to see the famous petroglyphs in Gobustan.
The President of the Academy was driving with me around to see this country and all its beautiful nature, and meet local people and scientists. We went to see the petroglyphs in Gobustan. I learned about my friend’s family connections the day before I left – he was the brother of the President of Azerbaijan, Heydar Aliyev. That was how my friendship with your country started.
Thor Heyerdahl made four visits to Azerbaijan: in 1981, 1994, 1999 and 2000.
Thor Heyerdahl besøkte Aserbajdsjan fire ganger: 1981, 1994, 1999 og 2000.
Gobustan
UNESCO World Heritage Site · Petroglyphs of Gobustan
Gobsutan
UNESCOs verdensarvliste · Runer av Gobustan
“Land of our origin” fashion collection
Inspired by Thor Heyerdahl’s theory of the equations between the Caucasus and Scandinavia.
Fashion designer Shervin Najafpour dedicate
a collection using the petroglyphs,
building cultural bridges between Norwegian
and Turkic cultural heritage. The collection is named “Land of our origin”.
Hadrian’s Gate, Antalya, Turkey
This 2,000-year-old portal to the ancient city is a fine example of Roman ingenuity, with elegant columns, three arches and a marble frame.
Falling in love in Azerbaijan
A mystic poet who wrote during the turn of the 14th century.
Imadaddin Nasimi
Photo credit: Edmond Yang
When two cultures becomes one
We followed Thor Heyerdahl’s footsteps in order to find the similarities between Norway and Azerbaijan. We created a love story scenario, where two persons from two different cultures meet in a love series wearing traditional costumes from Norway and Azerbaijan.
Take a closer look with Azerbaijani model Elvin Ismayil and Norwegian influencer Jeanette Elise Hildebrandt.
Når to kulturer blir en
Vi fulgte Thor Heyerdahl’s fotspor for å finne likhetene mellom Norge og Aserbajdsjan. Gjennom en historisk scenario, møter to personer fra to forskjellige kulturer i en kjærlighetsserie iført tradisjonelle drakter fra Norge og Aserbajdsjan.
Ta en nærmere titt sammen medden aserbajdsjanske modellen Elvin Ismayil og den norske influencer Jeanette Elise Hildebrandt.
Falling in love in Baku
Shamakhi, Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan is known as a multicultural and tolerant secular land of religious tolerance.
Aserbajdsjan er kjent som et flerkulturelt og tolerant sekulært land med religiøs toleranse.
The Palace of the Shirvanshahs
Many travelers are looking for an East meets West experience.
Well look no further than Baku, the capital city of the ancient state of the Shirvanshahs. Baku is an ancient city, mixed with old traditional and modern architecture.
“A flag once raised will never fall.”
— Memmed Emin Resulzade
“Et flagg en gang hevet vil aldri falle”
May 28th, 1918
Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan:
The First Parliamentary Republic in the East.
Den demokratiske republikken Aserbajdsjan:
Den første parlamentariske republikken i østen.
Memmed Emin Resulzade
the brightest & most prominent political figure & the ideological leader of the Revolutionary Nationalistic Movement of Azerbaijan who declared Azerbaijani’s independence & adopted the Declaration of Independence on May 28th, 1918
The founding fathers of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic,
Memmed Emin Rasulzade, Fatali Khan Khoyski, Nasib Yusifbeyli and others.
1918
Azerbaijani flag waves in recently liberated Cultural capital of Azerbaijan, Shusha city
President Ilham Aliyev
raises Azerbaijani flag in Shusha
Azerbaijani flag waves in recently liberated historic Khudaferin bridge
President Ilham Aliyev
raises Azerbaijani flag in Jabrayil
The historic Khudaferin bridge
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and his wife, first Vice President Mehriban Aliyeva, visiting the recently liberated ancient Khudaferin Bridge in the city of Jabrayil.
The historic Khudaferin bridge
The historic Khudaferin bridge dates back to the 12th century and connects the banks of the Araz River
May 28th, 2021
Republic Day of Azerbaijan
“A nation rich in culture will always move forward, live and develop.”
— Heydar Aliyev
“En nasjon rik på kultur vil alltid gå fremover, leve og utvikle seg.”
First official visit to Norway in 1996
National Leader of Azerbaijan, Heydar Aliyev with His Majesty The King. King Harald V and Queen Sonja.
Photo credit: Løchen, Per
“My home is where my carpet is spread.”
The Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum reflects the spiritual values of carpet-weaving in this cradle of old civilization.
“Mitt hjem er der teppet mitt er spredt.”
Azerbaijani traditional clothing by Fakhriya Khalafova.
“The intangible heritage such as carpet weaving points to nation’s values, beliefs and legacy.
Here you can immerse yourself in genuine ancient traditions today.
It is one of many good reasons to visit the National Carpet Museum of Azerbaijan in the capital city, Baku.”
Photo: Jørgen Gomnæs / The Royal Court.
The land of magic carpets
The hand-woven Azerbaijani carpet of His Majesty King Harald V is an initiative from the Cultural Bridge Building organization CAN’s Chairwoman Shervin Najafpour and The Center of Young Political Scientists Chairman Ilkin Aliyev.
Det håndvevde aserbajdsjansk teppet av Hans majestet Kong Harald V er et initiative fra den kulturelle brobygge organisasjonen CAN’s leder Shervin Najafpour og The Center of Young Political Scientists organisasjonsleder Ilkin Aliyev.
Mayor of Oslo
The Mayor of Oslo, Mrs. Marianne Borgen attended the second opening of the exhibition “Discovering The Land of Our Origin, following Thor Heyerdahl’s footsteps to Azerbaijan”.
Ordføreren av Oslo, Marianne Borgen deltok på den andre åpningen av utstillingen “Discovering The Land of Our Origin, following Thor Heyerdahl’s footsteps to Azerbaijan”.
The creative team behind this cultural bridge building project.
Bli kjent med det kreative teamet bak dette kulturelle brobygger prosjektet.
Creative Art Director & Photographer / Kreativ Art Director & Fotograf
Edmond Yang
Edmond Yang is a multidisciplinary visual designer based in Norway. With over 20 years of experience he has been working with many different commercial brands in both Scandinavia and Asia. With origins from Asia, his work is influenced by the East and the West. He has exhibited in many cities throughout the years, with the latest project at Nanjing, China, and had a speech at Nanjing Art Museum.
Edmond Yang er en multidisiplinær visuell designer basert i Norge. Med over 20 års erfaring i bransjen har han jobbet med mange forskjellige merkevare i skandinavia og asia. Med opprinnelse fra asia, ser man at arbeidet hans er inspirert både fra vesten og østen. Gjennom de siste årene har han hatt en del utstillinger i mange byer, og det siste prosjektet var i Nanjing, Kina, hvor han hadde også et foredrag på Nanjing Art Museum.
Chairwoman of CAN & Fashion designer / Organisasjonsleder for CAN & Klesdesigner
Shervin Najafpour
Shervin Najafpour is a fashion designer of Azerbaijani Turkic origin who embraces her heritage and promotes it through her fashion brand and cultural bridge building projects. A second generation immigrant born and raised in Norway, Shervin manages to incorporate the combination of “The West meets East” which has become her signature.
Shervin Najafpour er en klesdesigner av aserbajdsjansk-tyrkisk opprinnelse, født og oppvokst i Norge. Hennes signatur er å implementere elementer og inspirasjon fra sin rike kulturarv gjennom mote og kulturelle brobygger prosjekter. Dette er hennes måte å uttrykke kombinasjonen av “Vest møter Øst”.
Blogger & Influencer / Blogger & Influencer
Jeanette Elise Hildebrandt
Jeanette was born and raised in Norway, and has grown to become an influencer with a curious mind and a passion for traveling. Through her previous travel experiences, she has developed a love for cultural bridge building, and expresses this through the “Land of our origin” project. Jeanette was also the model and cultural representative for this project.
Jeanette er født og oppvokst i Norge, og har gjennom årene vokst til å bli en influencer med et nysgjerrig sinn og sterk lidenskap for å reise. Gjennom sine tidligere reiseopplevelser har hun utviklet en forkjærlighet for kulturell brobygging, og uttrykker dette gjennom prosjektet “Land of our origin”. Jeanette var blant annet modell og kulturrepresentant for dette prosjektet.
Gift to the Prime Minister
Handing the Prime Minister of Norway Mrs. Erna Solberg a gift from the project “Discovering The Land of Our Origin” in 2020.
I 2020, overrekker Shervin Najafpour en gave fra prosjektet “Discovering the Land of Our Origin” til den norske statsministeren Erna Solberg.
CAN 