Layer Through Layer
This installation, composed of layers of images, invites viewers on a journey through a visual narrative that transcends the boundaries of how we process the flow of information. Each layer unveils a fragment of a larger story, weaving together multiple perspectives. It reveals the complexity of human experiences that coexist within our collective consciousness.
The images within the installation have been selected and placed to establish a dialogue with the viewer. It is meant to evoke a sense of unity and shared experience, reminding us of the common threads that bind us to our collective reality.
While the installation presents a curated selection of images, it also invites viewers to bring their own interpretations to the narrative tapestry.
Installation by Armine Shahbazyan
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Mother Armenia
Hayasdan (Armenia) is a graphic essay that explores the relationship between contemporary Yerevan and its past. The work, by Harut Tumaghyan and Armen of Armenia (Ohanyan), is divided into three parts, each delving into the city’s socio-political and cultural context from an urban perspective.
The protagonist of the story is the iconic statue of Mother Armenia, who has watched over the city — and the country — for over half a century. In Part I, she embarks on a journey to find a pool of water to soothe her swollen feet, providing a unique lens into the psychological mindset of the city’s residents through her conversations with other statues.
Part II has her coming out of the lake and trying to return to her pedestal. Her journey becomes increasingly challenging as, without her sword and “monumental” attributes she has become unrecognizable, just another unknown woman. She soon discovers that other statues are vying for her place, culminating in a battle to take her place. Part III, which is projected for release in 2024, will be the concluding chapter of this enthralling graphic essay.
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Untitled
Berlin-based artist Tsolak Topchyan came up with the idea for his installation entitled “Untitled” when he saw how volunteers were making camouflage nets on the stage of the National Academic Theater of Opera and Ballet in Yerevan at the height of the 2020 Artsakh War.
“I later read and heard about other similar initiatives,” he says. While the net was meant to conceal and protect the soldiers, the process allowed ordinary people to come together and do what they could for the war effort. It was the embodiment of collective and united mourning.
Inspired by the expression of this societal act in the midst of war, Topchyan began working on his net in April 2021, alone in his studio, thousands of miles away…
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Copybition
The phenomenon of authenticity/authorship and questioning the blurred boundaries of the original and their production are relevant again in the spheres of art, culture and law.
These days humanity continues to witness how certain states pursue aggressive policies and attack other countries. They seize not only new territories and resources but vigorously appropriate others’ cultural heritage, denying the authenticity of the latter, strengthening illegal approaches, resorting to various falsifications, reintroducing the colonial language-phenomena that have been condemned and rejected by civilization.
In this atmosphere of endless manipulations, merciless expropriation, appeasement, and lack of defined and respected rights, the creation of a platform voicing cultural rights is vital to respond to the needs, wishes and demands of artistic communities and broad circles of the public. Met with copyright violations and other forms of injustice, artists face a tricky dilemma: solve the problem through confrontation, which can lead to a scandal or tolerate it and do nothing? The silence on the issues of appropriation of artists’ original works is the consequence of the absence of critical thinking and the underperformance and/or non-existence of institutions, which are supposed to advocate for cultural rights.
The fear of exclusion from artistic groups, being criticized by the community, limited opportunities to protect one’s rights, the lack of a platform for discussions, the doubts about the right to voice “belonging”, and sometimes unwillingness to consider the creative work within the framework of ownership and rights, many times force artists to remain silent and come to terms with the violation of rights, which makes them vulnerable and defenseless.
Living in a world that is often driven by the idea that “nothing is original, everything can be reproduced” many artists are forced to doubt the authenticity and authorship of their works at some point.
Artists:
Anna Hakopian
Armine Shahbazyan
Harutyun Tumaghyan
Lena Derunts
Lilit Altunyan
Lucine Talalyan
Maïda Chavak
Mary Hovsepyan
Nvard Yerkanyan
Curator: Tigran Amiryan
The exhibition is carried out by the Cultural and Social Narratives (CSN Lab) NGO, with the support of the Danish Cultural Institute (DCI) through the New Democracy Fund (NDF).