Echo

Poster and visual identity, Cafesjian Center for the Arts, 2024

The Echo exhibition at the National Pavilion of the Republic of Armenia, conceptualized by Paris-based Armenian artist Nina Khemchyan, melds Medieval Armenian heritage with universal spiritual principles, reconsidered in the realm of nowness. It features two main artworks, deeply interconnected. Influenced by Mesrop Mashtots, the creator of the Armenian alphabet and a key cultural figure, Khemchyan’s work reflects a profound engagement with his legacy.

A crucial element is her encounter with singer Hasmik Baghdasaryan- Dolukhanyan, whose renditions of Mashtots’ fifth-century sharakans (sacred chants of repentance) inspired the creation of eleven blue ceramic spheres, each adorned with golden incrustations featuring the texts of these chants. These spheres, alongside Baghdasaryan-Dolukhanyan’s a capella performance, blend sculpture with music, transforming words into visual codes.

The exhibition also includes Khemchyan’s Seven Deadly Sins, a 50-metre paper roll divided into segments representing each sin, using black ink on white paper to symbolize moral dichotomy. This work invites meditative reflection, complementing the Echo project in exploring themes of human sin and spiritual redemption, which are especially essential and vital nowadays.