Armenian Futurisms: a Poster Exhibition
It's a poster exhibition called "Armenian Futurisms", a bunch of 20-25 y.o. kids and myself fantasizing about the future of Armenia, and probably failing. Here I am, an aging boomer-shaped millennial with guns, myths, and breast-feeding, invading the gluten-free gen Z paradise.
Organizers about their project:
As our world grapples with indeterminacy, turbulence and the grief of the loss - that of lives, their agency and livelihoods, this project delves into potential futures, rooted in adaptability and defiance. The urgency of our times demands this conversation."Armenian Futurisms" aims to bridge Armenia's storied past with its present-day challenges and envisioned futures. Our foundation in ecofeminist and queer thinking is enriched by resistance against colonial impassé and the confines of patriarchal-capitalist systems. In resonance with Haraway's advocacy for symbiotic alliances and Fanon's push for mental liberation, our curatorial lens seeks to highlight sidelined stories and perspectives. We invite artists, scholars, and communities to collaborate in crafting futures that challenge entrenched norms, promoting a subsistent and equitable trajectory for Armenia within the vast mosaic of our shared world.
What can be more speculative than Tarot? In this poster, I took the Wheel of Fortune card - the one I drew when I asked a question during the 2022-2023 Artsakh blockade. I played with the idea of wheel and will, line and circle, predestination and uncertainty.
I replaced the characters in the card with four mythical archers, Hayk the Patriarch (Հայկ Նահապետ), the father of Armenian nation, Heracles (representing the collective European culture), Arash (the heroic archer of Iranian mythology), and Arjuna, (the protagonist of the Hundu epic Mahabharata). I replaced the all-knowing sphynx with the idk emoji, and wrapped it in the common answer about the future.
This one wasn't selected, the two other were.
The second one. My overconsumption of the last 2 years, which, I found out is also a coping mechanism (I HATE ALL THIS TRAUMA RELATED LINGO!!!), quick dopamine, and a way to numb the pain. Again, my ability to look into the future is reduced to 1-2 weeks, from order to purchase. The marketplace interfaces replaced the news websites, but no matter how much I want to detach from the news (I know I know it's irresponsible) I still hear that question 5 times a day - WHO IS GOING SUPPLY US ARMS? So, yes, there is this layer too.
This is the third try to talk about the future I want to live in, where we don't eat animals, don't take their food, don't fuckup their environment, and we don't conceive babies to send them to the geopolitical slaughterhouse.
