Yalli is one of the oldest types of dance. The word “Yal” in Azerbaijani language has several meanings, one of which is “mountains”. This is perhaps where the dance borrows its name, since Yalli dancers when holding hands resemble a mountain range. 

This carpet depicts wounded soldiers performing a dance of victory over their defeated enemy, despite having forever lost their own health to the battlefield. In this work, an ancient visual tradition is used: the background is not secondary but just as active as the main part of the piece. The carpet is woven in monochrome colors to emphasize the relationship between war and people’s lives.