EXHIBITION SYUNIK: LANDSCAPE OF ENDURANCE

Exhibition Opening Image

Our recent projects have revolved around Armenia’s people and heritage, so dedicating this fall’s exhibition to Syunik felt natural and necessary. The river of news we hear about the so-called “Zangezur Corridor,” “TRIPP,” or any other name used to euphemize pressure on a small country to relinquish sovereign  rights has only heightened our concern.

As artists, we ask ourselves what we can do. Our answer is to share what we see and what we learn.

For this exhibition, we wanted to tell the story of continuity: from Bronze Age observatories and the adoption of Christianity, through the Kingdom of Syunik, David Bek’s 18th century uprising, Njdeh’s liberation movement following the Armenian Genocide, and into more recent history, we have connected imagery to many of these chapters.

As we worked through the timeline, we reached the years immediately after Armenia’s independence from the Soviet Union. With rampant power outages, Armenians often refer to this time as the dark and cold years. To reflect this recent history, we considered printing a pure black square instead of a photograph. Then, as the centuries unfolded against the timeline, we realized that this “black frame” could belong to nearly every era. While Armenians have rarely had an easy path, hope and perseverance have provided the will to fight for independence and maintain identity.

This understanding made the storytelling aspect of the exhibition feel as essential as the visuals. We realized that even among Armenians, many have never visited Syunik or learned its rich and complex history. Creating a timeline that reflects both its ancient roots and its modern struggles became a central part of the work.

We invite you to spend time with us, engage with the timeline, ask questions, and enjoy the prints.

Because we believe that art is about giving, we are donating 30% of the proceeds to programs supporting the resilience of Syunik. Please reach out if you’d like to learn more about these initiatives.

Opening night photos @Stephan Falke