Reading "Dispersed in Space" Show

Original text in Farsi by Abel Hartouni

Translated to English by Omid Armat

An exhibition of artworks by Sanahin Babajanians was held at Aaran Projects from Nov 5 to 19, 2021. Babajanians was born in 1991 in Tehran and graduated with a BA degree in painting from the University of Science and Culture, and an MA degree from Alzahra University. "Dispersed in Space" is an installation of Babajanians paintings and sculptures in two different, but connected series.  

In the first series, she has created compositions by overlaying various colors and materials, and by using architectural structures and elements. Even her sculptures are inspired by architectural elements. In her second series, through a performative and more expressive practice, Sanahin Babajanians has made colors appear as independent layers in full abstraction. Represented as an explosion from inside, the subject of all of her works is her identity and inner duality.  

The "Diaspora" series may be perceived as a continuation of her previous series titled "Parallel or Confluence?" which was displayed two years ago at Farmanfarma Gallery. In this series, by using geometric and architectural elements she has tried to combine Persian and Armenian cultures. Most of the artworks in this series are created with a palette of earthly colors which is a reminder of the color of Armenian church stones. Babajanians has painted and sometimes collaged ornamental geometric patterns of columns, domes, wind towers, and minarets which has caused a rupture in space to be visible in all artworks of the series. It seems that the artist has tried deliberately to suspend the image somewhere between the surface and the deep, imaginary picture. Her sculptures, that are influenced by traditional architectural elements, also present such an explosion from the inside which remind the artist of the breakdown and destruction of anything related to the previous limits and dogmatic beliefs of a closed society.  

In the exhibition's statement, diaspora and its consequences are explained. Additionally, issues like multiculturalism, achieving a position in a larger society, and the influence of the dominant society have been mentioned. It seems that the concept of minority has a somewhat negative indication for the artist. She uses art as a tool with which she tries to extract new meanings from her inner duality. In the midst of uncertainties and constant changes in her surrounding world, she finds a path which is formed in oscillation between creating, covering, and again, creating. As it is clear in the statement, title, and artworks, the artist has explicitly depicted her concern. 

Multiculturalism is a certain fact in today's world, and it is normal for individuals engaged with such phenomenon to always think of new questions about their identity and position. Considering that cultural identities change temporally, a culture cannot be conceived of as a domain limited to certain elements or as a rigid phenomenon. But emphasizing on cultural elements and habits of a minority group, and exposing them, redefines its relation with the dominant group in a new way. What matters here is the artist's personal interaction with this complicated phenomenon and the way they react in the form of a bodily practice, which is the act of Mark Making.  

Artworks of "Diaspora" may be considered as a bridge between her previous series and her abstract paintings which are displayed in the second hall. It seems that the artworks of the second series are closer to the artist's favored expression. Here, we face a diverse multitude of painterly signs and practices that overlap and become reconstructed in a cycle over and over again. For the artist, such a performative practice is related to our current situation of living, and our uncertainty and struggle to believe or not to believe the dispersed, and even deceiving pieces of information flowing towards us every day. So the explicit content of the previous series is now replaced with some sort of a structured disorder which intends to conceal the artist's ideas behind a layer of obscurity. Lines diverging towards different vanishing points, rhythmic traditional motifs, interwoven and merged shapes, digits that associate with geographic locations, or dates related to the Armenian genocide and the number of its victims, playing with light and darkness, paint drops, and simplified linear figures of body pieces or soldiers carrying guns, are all the consisting layers of the disordered structure. All of these mark makings, which are done consciously or unconsciously, may be considered as the artist's emotional reaction to the occurrences in the world around her. Moreover, the artist seems to translate the dispersion of her body over different geographic areas to a formal dispersion in her paintings; this is an emphasis on the artist's presence and her social agency through mark making and creating a mark/sign.  

In conclusion, not only being a minority has no negative significance, but the existence of minorities causes cultural diversity and social dynamism within every society. That is why being present (either physically with the body or in its dispersed form throughout the environment) assumes increasing importance. Sanahin's presence is visible in her brushstrokes and other signs, that either explicitly indicate her national identity or represent, in an abstract form, her dispersed, contradictory ideas and thoughts as an explosion from inside.