About this Event
Join us in person for a talk and presentation by artist Taihei Soejima: “View of Ararat”.
This collection of artwork presents photographic pieces that focus on the ongoing battle over narratives, history and memory.
The exploration has centered on the theme: "How are narratives essential for humanity to be human?" To find an answer to this question, Taihei has experimented with various approaches, including photography and sculpture.
In 2022, Taihei stayed in Armenia, known as the world's oldest Christian nation, where he taught photography at TUMO for two months. During his stay, he witnessed the vivid scars of the conflict with its neighboring country. This experience profoundly shaped his understanding of the theme. The conflict was not merely a physical confrontation between nations; it was also a war over narratives, where history, memory, and identities were intensely contested on the global media stage and social media.
As an outsider witnessing this complex reality, he turned his attention to Mount Ararat to convey the essence of my experiences in Armenia. Regarded as the legendary landing place of Noah's Ark in the Old Testament, Mount Ararat holds profound significance for various religions and ethnic groups, serving for Armenia as a sacred symbol of identity and longing where multiple historical narratives intersect.
The mountain landscape was intentionally created using image generation AI. The resulting digital image was then transferred onto silver halide film—a material capable of preserving memory and physical trace—and developed into reversal film for projectors through a specialized chemical process. The haunting texture and digital distortions of the AI-generated images were veiled by the silver grains and monochromatic nuances of the silver halide film, resulting in a lively mountainscape when light passes through it.
Taihei will undertake a talk and presentation on the history and meaning of his path and this photographic artwork.
Event venue & nearby stays
Armenian House, 25 Cheniston Gardens, London, United Kingdom
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