vahram aghasyanvahramaghasyan@gmail.com

The modernist project in Armenia was half failed and half remained unfinished. In his video installations and digital photos Aghasyan investigates these architectural sites and investigates these architectural sites, and shows the social aspects of local modernity, by means of the analysis of historical, figurative and geopolitical aspects of the Soviet architecture and its representations .

Remains of the Future, 2010

The workshop consisting of presentations, discussions and a proposal of hypothetical alternative usage of the building was held on the bases of the improvised archive of the building of the former “Ministry of Automobiles Roads and Transportation of Georgia” part of which was exhibited in the building of former “Ministry of roads and transportation of Tbilisi”. Archive was collected with Nini Palavandishvili, Lali Pertenava, Ana Bejanashvili, Gogiko Sakvarelidze with a generous support of Chakhava family and ZurabJalaghania.This is the first attempt to initiate an archive of the building after the great fire that took place in the studio of George Chakhava in 2008 destroying projects, models, blueprints, photographs and other related materials. Workshop.

“Ruins of private property”, DVD video, 2007Video is a collection of still filmings in Sarier district in istanbul. Construction at the Uyum development in Sariyer was halted by the municipality in 1987 on grounds of illegally obtaining the municipality in 1987 on grounds of illegally obtaining building permits, but the actual demolition of the site is being carried out now, after 20 years of the actual ceasing of the operation. So far in the demolition process 57 villas have been brought down.

Ghost city “photo-video installation, consisting of 8 photographs (100X130) and DVD video 5min, 2005-07With a population of 149,000 people Gyumri is the second largest city in Armenia. However, it greatly suffered the terrible earthquake of 1988. In order to help the homeless, those suffering as of consequence to the disastrous earthquake, the Soviet Government decided to build a new residential area called Mush; a fairly large area next to the city. Construction started in 1989 but was never finished. Mush is very near the it ent e One onl h to t el ten min te f om the ent e to find him/he in thi d e df l ilde ne of city centre. One only has to travel ten minutes from the centre to find him/her in this dreadful wilderness of

dead buildings. . In Mush the ghostly spectre of Modernism is ever present. It is a spectre because the modernist construction was never finished. In Armenia Modernism will never completely go away, because it never fully arrived. Residential buildings and areas were increasingly pushed out to the suburbs and outskirts of cities and forgotten. To this day they are paid little or no attention. They have been left at mercy of time and weather and some day they will fade away. But before they do so, they stand as a silent reminder of certain truths. When one stands in the centre of Mush and observes the buildings that have failed to fulfill their function one can’t stop thinking of the bright future that was intended for them and the utopian aura their function one can t stop thinking of the bright future that was intended for them and the utopian aura that these buildings carry within themselves.

“Ghost city” c-prints, series of 10, 2005

“Ruins of our time” series of 12 photographs, 2005While traveling outside of the Yerevan, passing by the deserted landscapes one comes across bus stops , They stand alone and abandoned, solo in the middle of comes across bus stops , They stand alone and abandoned, solo in the middle of nowhere. Passers by take the time to look at them only for a few seconds, still their presence is unavoidable, they can not escape their presence, because of their unusual, overdone architecture. With some exceptions, we can easily spot bus stops, since they are examples of functional architecture and design, they must be easily noticeable for the public so that one can easily find them when in need. For that purpose they are commonly done in colors and executed to be comfortable; unlike ambitious or grand structures. These bus stops in Armenia ; g pare different to a certain extant, because of their modeling. Most of them are built during the period extending between the sixties and the eighties. This sector was maybe the most experimental of all the other architecture that is present in Armenia; as a result the bus stops made of stone or concrete sometimes within the traditions of constructivist architecture. Monuments and architectural monuments were always part of soviet architecture, in this case we are dealing with “bus stops monuments” which are build to glorify the magnificence of soviet public transportation. They are built close to few, relatively, large towns and villages, all next to the highway for regional buses. After the independence, when bus and minibus transportation started to grow and the transportation connections extended deeper into the villages, in order to get more customers, the bus stops became useless; left alone with their loneliness together with time and weather.

“City of two suns” c-prints, 2006On the digitally manipulated images, one can see different buildings from different eras brought together.

“Untitled”, series of dvd video, 2005

“Factories in the heaven” video installation,Double screen video, smoke machine, 2005There are factories built in Armenia during the soviet years which occupy There are factories built in Armenia during the soviet years which occupy large territories in Yerevan. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, as is the case in all other post-communist countries, in Armenia too, these factories together with their entire neighborhoods have been left idle, and are no more capable of performing the role which had been reserved for them by the Soviet ideology. These vast and inoperative ruins are witnesses of Armenia's unrealized industrial dream, which even today, in the present circumstances of high-industrial dream, which even today, in the present circumstances of highlevel unemployment, they remain highly desirable.However, the entire post-soviet situation can be characterized by this semi-destroyed and futile condition.It seems like the post-soviet reality is in a hazy state on the crossroad of selecting its political direction. But the dreadful image of factories reiterates the fact that corrections of such errors always require large time intervals.y q g

“Kvartal 16” dvd video 4:11min, 2003In almost all post communist countries there are typical buildings, which are built during soviet times. There are areas in Yerevan which started to build in soviet times and it is remained unfinished, 16-th block is one of such areas Most of Yerevan was build block is one of such areas. Most of Yerevan was build during soviet period, now it is accepted as a part of national architecture; this is not the case with 16 block.The work is conversation between the city guest and local civilian. It poses the question of distinction between the “conversation” and “communication” and drives out by the snippy nature of junk-drives out by the snippy nature of junkcommunication which also form the aesthetics as well as social and political imagery of communicating parties.

“Bangladesh” DVD video 8 min, 2002-03In Armenia perhaps the greatest heritage left from Soviet Union is the modern architecture. Bangladesh is one such area built in the eighties and resembles a small town; obviously, it does so not because of its size but because of the symmetry of its tall, identical buildings. “the citizens" themselves have given this sarcastic name to their "city". It is the hottest and the farthest district of Yerevan. As the camera follows the architectural structure of the buildings

/ th hilli f l f th l Th one can grope/sense the chilling feel of the place. The housing projects during the eighties in Armenia that pursued the idealism of modernism turn out to be a failure of modernity. The scenes show the pretentiousness of construction, as well as contemporary interventions and the citizens’ ideasof space and life.

Vahram AghasyanBORN 1974, Yerevan, ArmeniaEDUCATION:1993 -1999 M.F.A. Yerevan Academy of Fine Arts, Yerevan, Armenia 1989-1993 Yerevan technical institute of ArtsWORK EXPIRIENCE 1995 works as freelance designer1996-2000 Art Editor of Armenian monthly magazine "GAROUN"2000-2003 Art teacher in secondary school in Koghb village2006 teacher in the art institute, in “mkhitar sebastaci” educational complexSELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS2007 Vahram Aghasyan La maison neyrand, Lyon 2005 "Ghost city" accea, yerevan1998, “TEXT’ Charly Kchachaturian Galery Yerevan1996 “Text as a measure of space”Kultur Kontakt, Vienna, AustriaSELECTED EXHIBITIONS/FESTIVALS2007 10th International Istanbul Biennial2007 “Time of storytellers” Museum Kiasma, Helsinki, Finland2007 “Progressive Nostalgia” centro per l'arte contemporanea LUIGI PECCI - Prato, Italy2007 “Heterotopias” First Contemporary Art Biennale Of Thessaloniki2007 “Neighbors in dialogue” Feshane-I Amire, Istanbul2007 “Grand Bleu: rêves de la mer entre Erevan, Gyumri et Paris”, Artcore gallery, Paris

2002 “MIGRATION OF IMAGES” 2001 “UTOPIANA” Hay-art, Yerevan, Armenia2000 “Festival est.ouest”, Die, France2000 Second International Biennale of Giumry, Giumry, Armenia2000 “PARALLEL REALITIES”, Armenian Austrian join exhibition, Hay-art, Yerevan2000 “PETTY-BOURGEOIS PANIC”, Armenian Center for Contemporary Experimental Art (ACCEA), Yerevan

2007 Contemporary video art from Armenia, musee d’art contemporain, Lyon2007 “Regards Projetés – Arménie” Espace apollonian, Strasbourg2006 Caucasus Biennale, National Children Gallery, Tbilisi, Georgia2006 TRANSFUSION Kunsthalle Palazzo, Bazel2006 e-flux video rental, pist, Istanbul2006 plan project / Museum Ludwig, Koln2006 Transborder_exclusion/inclusion Basement – Ausstellungsraum, vienna2005 Cine y casi cine. 6ª edición, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid.

Experimental Art (ACCEA), Yerevan1999, “CRISIS” ACCEA Yerevan1999 Three Tendencies, Hay-Art, Yerevan, Armenia1999 Great Atrophy, Hay-Art, Yerevan, Armenia1998 Text Landscape, Charlie Khachadourian Gallery, Yerevan, Armenia1998 “NEVER MIND’ ACCEA, Yerevan 1997 "15-35/97"ACCEA, Yerevan 1996 "POSITION" ACCEA, Yerevan 1996 "Art Festival Dedicated to the Independence of Republic of Armenia" ACCEA,

2005 Detmold film festival, germany2005 Venice bienale, armenian pavillion, venice, italy2005 Oberhausen international short film festival, Oberhausen, Germany2004 Fourth International Biennale of Giumry, Giumry, Armenia2004 “Kinoshock” film festival, Anapa, Russia2003 Adieu Parajanov, Kunsthalle Vienna, Austria2003 INOUT festival of digital image, Prague Czech republic2003 The last east european show” museum of modern art, belgrade, Serbia

1996 Art Festival Dedicated to the Independence of Republic of Armenia ACCEA, Yerevan 1996 "Work in Progress"ACCEA, Yerevan 1995 "Contemporary Art of Armenia 80-95" Central House of Artists, Moscow 1995 "Question of the Ark" Moscow - Yerevan joint action Museum of Modern Art, Yerevan 1995 "ACT" "Ex - Voto" Center of Art, Yerevan 1994 "69"Central House of Artists, Yerevan1994 "Yerevan Landscape"Abrahamyan Museum, Yerevan 1994 "P.S.""Arvest" Gallery, Yerevan 1993 "Annual Youth Exhibition"Central House of Artists, Yerevan,

RESIDENCY2007 Platform Garanti, Istanbul2005 OCA, Oslo Norway1996 Kultur Kontakt, Vienna, Austria

Address: Giulbekyan 42 apt 24COLLECTIONS Address: Giulbekyan 42 apt 24Yerevan, 375033, ArmeniaEmail: vahramaghasyan@gmail.com

vahram_aghasyan@yahoo.comTel.:+374(91) 905 789 mob.

COLLECTIONS

museum per l'arte contemporanea LUIGI PECCI - Prato, ItalyArs evi museum, Saraevo