Most definitely. Collage is a rather efficient and obvious tool to express a layered speech. But I have to say I am myself not very fond of the genre. Most collages I see are sticking to the naive, obsolete tricks. I think my current work is more photomontage than collage really. I very much enjoy the idea of a background constantly evolving. Most of my works are ongoing and perpetually developing. Having the subject of my pictures change their background illustrate life of thousands, who constantly change surroundings, leave familiar settings, have to renew themselves somewhere unknown.

Yes. As mentioned above, I am not a big fan of traditional collage style and handmade collage because it also comes with a definite final form. To me, the real advantage with digital is the endless possibilities when working on an image. I have thousands of elements travelling from images to images until they find the right setting, and even then, this is not set in stone. I like this idea of a constantly evolving object.

As far as you can think of. Digital and traditional are not incompatible the same way progress and traditions aren’t. Digital tools, new technologies can actually be crucial in the future in the preservation of some information, including traditions. Most developed countries see less developed countries with condescension and have difficulties grasping what reality is in these places. It is important to reset the clocks and introduce the idea that a country can remain very attached to its tradition while being open to the rest of the world, and progress, in all its forms.
I try to combine visuals that are very connoted to the digital and are kind of dirty and kitsch, such as screenshots, vaporwave, video games, etc., with very specific traditional elements from the Caucasus. Some visual encounters seem meant to be, some are visually chaotic or really tacky, to give nuance to the story. It is also blending strong references from both worlds and some of their major artists. Like the encounter of Magritte and Paradjanov, for example.

In recent years, many photographers have been questioning the role of photography, especially in its ability to render the truth, or at least some truth. Photography as a genre is emancipating – thank God – from conventional documentary and getting more conceptual. Photographs can be very deceiving, and I don’t think of photography as a produced image of life but rather of an illustration of what lives want to be seen.
Now, regarding the quote from Wilde, I do believe that we are reaching a point, especially in photography, where we are in constant representation and are pushing the limits to perform our lives. Especially with the use of social media, where we document everything with zero spontaneity, just for the sake of participating in this massive documentation. We play a role in settings we’ve seen before and in which we want to be seen. We are creating, staging moments of life to capture them and, therefore, exist? It is utterly absurd.

We’ve all known each other for quite some time, some of us are relatives, others are life-long friends. We decided in 2014 to gather strengths and create a small community of artists. We all work individually and sometimes on collective projects. So we exist as a collective for online and offline.

I have always loved the idea of a silver lining and my work is very much influenced by this idea. Recurrences occur in my works, like a loop pattern illustrating life. Armenians, for instance, had to leave Turkey in 1915, and Russia in 1917, and Syria recently. Some stories, and some History keep repeating, and I find important to keep this input of cycle in my work. And since my practice is constantly evolving and I develop new projects with sometimes old material, it also finds an echo in this process, it a constant evolution with recurring patterns.

Not really, no. There is indeed a presence of musical instruments in my images, but the same way you can find elements of other folk crafts. The instrument I use the most is the Duduk, the Armenian flute, which has a very distinct sound. It is very popular in Armenia and representative or traditional Armenian music.

They’ve all had a strong impact on me, but Sayat Nova definitely had the strongest. It was the first of his movies that I ever saw, so I was opening the door to a whole life-changing universe. But also because in terms of density, it is for me the most intense one. The Shadow Of Forgotten Ancestors also had a great impact. Cinema in general is a very strong influence, especially Tarkovsky and Pasolini.

Most definitely. I think it is a challenge, as an artist, to develop and share work in which his/her identity does not matter and does not transpire into the production. Even in the case of intimate, personal work, I do believe it is possible to separate completely the artist from the work. It is something that art needs also, because the identity of the artist often impacts his production and the way the work is received. By the celebrity of the author, his/her age, gender, background, etc. In this process, the use of an alias is a quite interesting and efficient way to experiment around these topics.

It is, and very soothing as well. The idea of endless possibilities and the process of composing the ‘perfect’ image is really cathartic. It is a process during which the mind wonders and that I love to do when I am having a bad day and my mind is cluttered.

Well, it depends. Influence in international politics, internal politics, social progress, and culture are very different things. In terms of cultural influence, for example, the East has been very influenced by the West for some time with pop culture for instance, but recently, things turned around and the West is far more influenced by the East than the other way around. When you see young middle-class people in London, Paris or Amsterdam being obsessed with trying to look like working class Ukrainian, it is a bit of a strange feeling.
There is a lot of growing hype around places like Kyiv or Tbilisi, and it is annoying of course to witness cultural appropriation. Many young artists now go to Ukraine to shoot music videos even though they have nothing to say about the place and have absolutely no ties with it, just for the hype around it and what it represents. There is of course a very significant financial gap between Eastern and Western countries in Europe, so many young creatives from the East look up to the West when it comes to work opportunities and professional training.
That being said, because of the condescension that comes from the West, many do feel like it is time to bring their voice to the table, and they’re doing it brilliantly. For some time, the West was craving freedom and was obsessed with a fantasized version of what the West was like, and nowadays, I feel like it has changed a lot, which is good I think.

A very exciting new project, again focussing on Armenia but I can’t share more for now!