Artist Statement

My body of work incorporates painting, drawing, and transfer processes to uncover themes of distance, memory and fragility while celebrating Armenian identity through confrontationally hopeful and reflective outlooks.

The Armenian genocide of 1915 fragmented culture and created distance between Armenians and their lands. This fragile quality emerges in my work through the transfer process as it scars elements with tears, holes, and rips. With over a century having passed since these horrors, no more witnesses are among us. Only echoes and whispers remain to shape the Armenian collective memory. Thus, my work is guided by a soft color palette and ghostly figures to reference the remnants of these quiet memories. A great source of influence arises from ancient Armenian manuscripts. The flatly rendered characters that live on these pages are offered more dimension in my work to occupy a space that is inbetween manuscript and real life, channeling cultural memory. Many roots and botanical elements also ornament my pieces to show prevalence, strength, and growth despite acts of erasure.

Being a culture that has often been pushed to the shadows using painting, drawing, and transfers to rewrite erased histories holds power. Symbols and fragments uncover layers of the past, showcasing what may have become lost or purposefully covered and suppressed for the interests of others.