We Are the Living Colors of Our Lands (2024)


“We Are the Living Colors of Our Lands” is a series of tufted portraits that captures the anguish of displacement, evoking the pain of exile and the forced expropriation of ancestral lands. Inspired by the powerful stories and images of over 100,000 Indigenous Armenians from Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), the work responds to their mass exodus in September 2023—following a nine-month blockade by Azerbaijan that deepened the suffering of the local population. The series features five portraits: Azad, Aiki, Stepan, Shoushig, and Mardig.

By combining fragments of human portraits with territories, each piece reflects the inseparable bond between indigenous peoples and their lands. The vibrant and joyful colors subtly express a sense of rupture and loss, evoking the painful experience of being forcibly torn from one's home and ancestral habitats. Nonetheless, these colors also symbolize Armenian resilience, passed down from generation to generation. Wherever Armenians go, their colors accompany them, shaping their identity and homeland.