HAYP 3.0

The depths of water have long been mysterious to man, holding the power for both creation and destruction. Armenia itself has intricate mythologies around water dragons/serpents (“vishap”), the result of cross-fertilization among Zoroastrian, folk, and Christian narratives. For HAYP Pop Up Gallery’s 3rd exhibition “The Scale of Life”, six artists reinterpret water mythologies from their contemporary standpoint, while exploring symbols of fertility and creation in pagan armenia.

Some of the artists are inspired by the earth’s elements, like in the works of Felix Romanos and Moushegh Mkhitaryan. Felix has long been inspired by the ocean. His works reflect water’s duality: its ability to create and destroy, as well as the contradiction between its vast emptiness and multitude of life forms. Moushegh represents the elements of water, fire, earth and air through his four “Zinvor” (Soldiers). For the artist, the soldiers embody the power of each element, the strength we must find in them, and the importance of their unity or brotherhood.

Artists Melissa Finkenbiner, Hrachya Vardanyan and Avedik Vardanyan examine the complex relationship we have with symbols and deciphering a distant past. In her installation piece, “Joints of Vishapakar”, Melissa shows our attempt to piece together historical artifacts like the history behind the Vishapakars (dragon stones), phallic megaliths that were erected by bodies of water and whose origin remains mostly unknown. The picture is incomplete, like the space between her disjointed bricks, and we can only fill the emptiness with stories and legends. The mystery of the dragon stones has been a theme that brothers Hrachya and Avedik have developed for the past two years. In their collaborative project “Return of Dragon Carpet”, the artists have created works on canvas and in metallic sculpture (shown here), as well as performance and video art. They explore the symbols that surround us- whether in woven carpets, megaliths, or epic stories- and see them as our attempt to get closer to the source.

In LUSKA’s augmented mural, “Vishapunette” (Dragonette), the artist creates a mythical creature of her own, a woman-serpent-dragon from her “alien series” in which she morphs imaginary aquatic and cosmic creatures.

We invite the viewer to experience and question these mythical symbols. However unreal they may be, they carry within them the markers of a very real history of human interest in the world, its elements, and creation.

Artists: Melissa Finkenbiner, LUSKA, Félix Romanos, Mushegh Mkhitaryan, Avetis Vardanyan, Hrachya Vardanyan.

Event Week:

Download Event Flyer here.

Fri, 28/8 OPENING NIGHT: Art, food by DZOOK Pop Up, music by Joseph Zakarian, and wine courtesy of KARAS at HAYP pop up gallery.
Sun, 30/8 FILM SCREENING by The ScREenery
Wed, 2/9 TALK (Archeology & Pagan Armenia) by Armen Martirosian
Fri, 4/9 Theater Performance by Aram Atamian
Mon, 7/9 Dance Performance by BA-AR-DIA

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