HDV, 23’20”, 16:9, colour, stereo, English subtitles, 2011
Emerging at dawn, the Ararat twin mountains seem to be in dialogue. Subtitles appear on screen as silent voices from the past commenting on the landscape. They stem from testimonies of survivors from both sides of the Turkish-Armenian conflict, from both sides of the mountains. The landscape talks to the audience like a witness, and reveals the closed and military controlled border zone between both neighbours. The iconic, holy mountains, symbol of the Armenian nation and defining its identity, now belong to Turkey and are located right behind the closed border, still dominating the landscape. Looking from Armenian perspective, left and right have switched by mirroring the image. It suggests the impossible view for Armenians from the western side, referring to an era long gone, to times when historical Armenia was one. The image relocates both mountains, like the people living around them were relocated during the genocide of 1915. While the landscape exposes slowly, relocation reflects on identity, and the way it is defined by land(scape) and memory.
Selected exhibitions & screenings:
LOOP Festival Barcelona 2016; Médiathèque FMAC Geneva 2015; Concertgebouw Bruges 2014; Greylight Projects Brussels 2014; Now & After International Video Art Festival Moscow 2014; Pianofabriek Brussels 2014; Panazorean International Film Festival Ponta Delgada 2013; Art Souterrain Montréal 2013; La Capella Barcelona 2012; Doclisboa Lisbon 2012; One Shot International Short Film Festival Yerevan 2012; Lieux-Communs Namur 2012; Museum of Ixelles Brussels 2012; European Media Art Festival (EMAF) Osnabrück 2012; Experiments in Cinema Albuquerque 2012; Bandits-Mages Bourges 2011; dokumentArt European Film Festival for Documentaries Neubrandenburg / Szczecin 2011; Aesthetica Short Film Festival York 2011; Art’Contest Brussels 2011; EXiS Experimental Film and Video Festival Seoul 2011; International Documentary and Anthropology Film Festival Pärnu 2011; FID Marseille 2011; FLUXUS International Film Festival on the Internet São Paulo 2011; Onion City Experimental Film Festival Chicago 2011; Media City Film Festival Windsor 2011; Courtisane Festival Ghent 2011; Be-Part Waregem 2011