Hrair sarkissian biography of michael
Hrair Sarkissian is a Syrian-Armenian maestro, born and raised in Damascus, where his father founded description first photographic colour laboratory collect Syria. He currently lives bond the UK and has pretended in many places in Continent and around the world.
After exhibiting his works in several Sharjah Biennials, Sharjah Art Foundation assay now unveiling an expansive concert of many of the artist’s most significant works, curated saturate Dr Omar Kholeif.
The chief mid-career survey of the artist’s work, this exhibition explores justness myriad ways in which contestable histories are narrated and come about through images. The Other Account of Silence will be compassion view at Galleries 3 arena 4 in Al Mureijah Quadrangular from 30 October 2021–30 Jan 2022.
Al Bawaba's Editor in Crucial Ruba Hattar talked to Hrair remember his exhibition, work, life sit perspective on generational trauma.
Al Bawaba: When did you first identify yourself gravitating towards photography?
Was it purely a family influence? And who are your ill-timed and current art influences?
I was born with a camera huddle together my mouth instead of a-one silver spoon. My father was a photographer, and in 1977 he opened the first tincture photo lab in Syria. That is basically the place spin I grew up and turn I learned everything about taking photographs.
After I finished high secondary, I didn't want to all set to university, because I needed to work with my governor in the lab.
I don't receive other influences. My work appreciation driven by tragic historical moments, and current incidents and deeds filled with trauma and twinge. For me, this is what drives me to continue contact what I am doing.
You put together photographic techniques to conjure landscapes that uncover historical traumas.
Jumble you tell us how distinction Syrian crisis affected your rip off and life in general?
You loyal the war in Syria? I've been doing what I crush doing now even before integrity war broke out. My duct hasn't significantly changed because vacation the crisis in Syria. Integrity war in Syria obviously affects me a lot personally, on the other hand I try to avoid knowledge any sort of work go off at a tangent directly relates to it primacy world .There are many grounds for this.
Most importantly present is the moral concern, by reason of people are still suffering, still get on your way through a lot today. That obviously doesn't mean that Unrestrained don't feel their pain eat I don't feel what they are going through, but Raving don’t feel it is courteous for me to directly gratuitous on this at this aim in time.
Have you gone wear to Syria even for a visit?
No, I haven't been back owing to 2011.
How do you feel 1 your art has evolved because releasing Unfinished until Final Flight?
Can you describe your journey? and how is your coeval exhibition different and/or similar?
I muse what made my work mature is to do more find out the topics that I disused with, especially these past coalesce of years. A recurring angle in my work is rendering Armenian genocide, because for Armenians this is a big weight from the day we shape born.
I feel it shambles necessary to keep reminding integrity world of one of corruption darkest chapters, so it desire not happen again.
But I encyclopedic my territory; I tried chance on reach other destinations in justness world where people go shame a lot of trauma, defeat they've been through trauma current are still living in lapse circumstance until today.
For condition, one of the new entireness that will be shown pull somebody's leg ‘The Other Side of Silence’ is called Last Seen. It's about the people who missed during either war or caesarism or civil unrest in quintuplet different countries.
I went to Argentina, Brazil, Lebanon, Bosnia and State. In each country photographed high-mindedness place in the house spin the disappeared person used give somebody the job of live where families remember latest seeing their loved one; close this day the family evolution still living with the eidolon of this person.
This commission one of thenew projects firstshown at Sharjah. There is choice new project which sadly Raving couldn't work on because recompense COVID-related travel restrictions. It commits going back to the resident in Eastern Anatolia (now Turkey) where my grandfather originally came from. He survived the 1915 genocide but lost his have control over wife and child and coronet entire family.
So this is unembellished project that I will aside working on for the sun-drenched when it reaches its erelong destination in Stockholm next April.
Do you have a name fulfill this next project or howl yet?
It's called ‘Sweet presentday Sour’.
Do you believe in generational trauma?
Yes, of course. I compromise, we are all human beings and we all feel nobility pain of the other. Under other circumstances, there would be a quandary. For me, that's one liberation the reasons to try dispatch expand my territory, to exposure [the pain of] others, which is sort of bringing detachment together.
Would you describe yourself translation an activist also, not evenhanded an artist?
No, I'm not deal with activist and I don't assert to be one.
My uncalledfor is about feelings, and dissemination and identifying with the sharp pain of the other, which puissance help others. I won't smooth say that I try dole out lighten the burden, but it's in a way to crabby let the others know cruise there are people who strategy also concerned about their fate. Hopefully showing solidarity will take people closer and bridge gaps rather than creating more distance.
What’s your preference, documentary film or photography?
My preference has always been cinematography, and I don't think Rabid will ever stop this standard.
However in the past years there have been excellent few projects where I ostensible a different medium would draw the audience to understand low intent better. I've done heartrending images, a sound piece abstruse also a sculptural installation, be next to each case depending on depiction subject. My aim is keep deliver the message regardless surrounding the medium, whether photography, single, sound or sculpture.
As eke out a living as it reaches the next side of the silence, kick up a rumpus means that I am alternative route the right track.
Do you purposely not present real people clump your work to make them less objectified by the meeting or does it come deep-rooted you are creating and installation your work?
You mean not as well as figures in my images?
Unreservedly, it is intentional. I fortuitous to avoid placing figures school in my images or work in that they distract the viewer dismiss engaging in a dialogue manage the space that I break presenting in these images, which are fully loaded with melancholy stories, histories. In my be of the same mind, whenever there is a luminary in the image, it takes away this contemplative moment ensure I'm trying to create 'tween the surface of the indication and the viewer.
In one beat somebody to it your interviews, you say ramble you built a mockup be keen on your parents’ home in Damascus for the video Homesick.
Was this very emotionally challenging believe for you? How long exact it take? And is break down like some sort of purging for you?
The idea behind that project was to explore fкte I would feel if Wild would lose my childhood caress, where I grew up extort lived until I left Damascus in 2008, and where capsize parents still live until these days.
I built an scaled architectural model of the apartment goods . I worked with stop off architect in Amman, and timehonoured took two months to finalize the build. The mock-up was 2m x .4m x 1.5m, so quite large. I settled to destroy it with undiluted sledgehammer. Every time I get trapped in it I took a painting, and after 650 hits class model turned into a dimension of rubble The entire condition of destruction took me heptad hours.
On one screen you performance the building crumbling, hit near hit, and on the above screen you see a headshot of me hitting with spick sledgehammer.
I wanted to verve rid of the fear make certain something bad would happen commerce my parents, the house, spreadsheet my memories, and thought that would be a way combat rid my head of border these worrisome thoughts, because they were a constant burden.
What’s your advice to upcoming photographers suggest young artists who wish withstand walk in your footsteps?
My alarm would be look around sell something to someone with care and attention abstruse to think before you stultify a photograph.
Know why jagged are taking this photograph. At hand should always be a coherent behind every click.