POSTPONED: On the other side of silence – in conversation with Hrair Sarkissian

POSTPONED

Eccles Room, Pembroke College

All welcome. 

Hrair Sarkissian (Damascus, 1973) earned his foundational training at his father’s photographic studio in Damascus, which to this day informs his perspective and his practice. In 2010 he completed a BFA in Photography at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie, Amsterdam. He lives and works in London. Sarkissian’s photographic practice is characterised by an element of search, as well as the dichotomy of visible/invisible. The search relates to answers about his personal memories and background, and he uses this subjectivity as a way to navigate stories that official histories are unable or unwilling to tell. The invisibility versus visibility is evident in Sarkissian’s often deserted landscapes and locations, devoid of human presence yet filled with human existence. “I try to engage the viewer into a more profound reading of what lies behind the surface, thereby re-evaluating larger historical or social narratives.”

This seminar is part of the Silence and Visuality Seminars on Armenian Art & History – an interdisciplinary series presenting current research by emerging and established scholars, and conversations with distinguished contemporary artists. Seminar Conveners are Dr Suzan Meryem Rosita Kalaycı, Director of the Oxford Network for Armenian Genocide Research, and Dr Vazken Khatchig Davidian, Associate Member of Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies. This series of talks is hosted by the Oxford Network for Armenian Genocide Research and supported by TORCH funding.

Oxford Network for Armenian Genocide Research, TORCH Networks