Mikayel Ohanjanyan

And… If there was no writing?

curated by Mazdak Faiznia

Mikayel Ohanjanyan

And… If there was no writing?

curated by Mazdak Faiznia

Mikayel Ohanjanyan, And... If there was no writing?, 2024, detail. Photo by Nicola Gnesi

OPENING
Thursday, September 26
from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

OPENING HOURS
From September 27 to November 8
From Wednesday to Friday
3 p.m. – 7 p.m.
Saturday by appointment

Free access with Assab One 2024 membership card (€10)
For more information write to info@assab-one.org

 

Assab One presents And… If there was no writing?, solo exhibition dedicated to artist Mikayel Ohanjanyan curated by Mazdak Faiznia.

Studio 3 hosts the large site-specific installation by Armenian artist Mikayel Ohanjanyan, who for the occasion creates a work specially designed for the premises of Assab One. Five basalt blocks of various sizes, wrapped in steel cables firmly anchor them to the ground vigorously, occupy the entire exhibition space with great intensity. The result of the artist’s latest research, the work starts from a reflection on the theme of connections, exploring their different physical or metaphysical manifestations: interpersonal bonds, those with nature and the universe, with our inner and outer worlds. On the surfaces of the stone elements some lead-cast shards repeatedly bear a phrase: “And… If there was no writing?”.
Ohanjanyan draws from ancient poems and tales about the emergence of writing, highlighting its value in human existence and the creation of bonds by interweaving his research with the history of the place hosting the installation. The title of the exhibition poses a provocative question inviting us to rethink the symbolic meaning of writing in a space that once, inside the GEA printing factory, had the role of cramming the paper used for printing.

Writing, like bonds, – explains curator Mazdak Faiznia – with all its richness, becomes indispensable for a new impulse and a new path, a crucial point where the spark towards the unknown is ignited, requiring us to go beyond the boundaries of our personality and, in truth, to discover ourselves”.

The artist whishes to thank:
AGBU Arts
&
Fondazione Stefano Serapian

Text by Mazdak Faiznia

And… If there was no writing?

Writing, in its deepest essence, is much more than a simple medium of communication: it is a bridge between the past and the present, a witness to our being and a vehicle of knowledge and wisdom.
Mikayel Ohanjanyan’s installation, realised for the premises of Assab One, stems from a reflection on the history of the place that hosts this work: a space with a long tradition linked to writing, a former printing factory where art catalogues and encyclopaedias were printed. The artist’s current research focuses on the theme of ‘bonds’, which are always the result of a profound observation of the infinite forms of human ties: bonds with ourselves, between our inner and outer worlds, with others, whether physical or metaphysical, with nature and the universe. On this occasion, the artist addresses the theme of writing, aware of its importance in our civilisation, but also of its duality. The question “And… If there was no writing?” is not just a provocation, but an invitation to rethink this fundamental medium, perhaps to re-evaluate the way we use it and to consider how we might transcend it. The oldest archaeological evidence for the invention of writing is found in the Sumerian poem Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta, the first of a cycle narrating the conflict between the cities of Uruk and Aratta around 3000 BC. This poem does not describe armed clashes, but rather recounts the comings and goings of a messenger who conveys the thoughts of the two kings. The most significant moment is when the king of Uruk, finding himself having to transmit a message too complex to be remembered by the messenger, invents writing. From that moment on, writing becomes a pivotal element of our civilisation.
Mikayel Ohanjanyan explores this concept, observes space, reflects on it, consciously evolving his research on bonds in a spatial dimension, creating an unprecedented, complex and symbolic work, influenced by the environment itself. His site-specific installation consists of shapeless basalt blocks of various sizes, wrapped in steel cables that hold them tightly to the ground. The deep furrows created by the cables generate a visual and conceptual tension, as if these stones, a metaphor for the human being, were prevented from flying. The cables top, tied to the splinters of the same blocks cast in lead, recall the lead letters used in typography, connecting material and concept. The surfaces engraved by the artist include writings that repeat the phrase in the work’s title: “And… If there was no writing?
This question invites us to reflect on writing as a metaphor for life and human relationships; with all its unquestionable importance, it symbolically becomes a boundary place, a threshold to be “crossed”, where it is vital to understand and absorb the essence and content of writing itself, having the courage to freely take the next step, avoiding becoming trapped in writing. This does not mean denying the pre-existing, but rather living the present with the intensity and awareness of who we are.
In Vedic literature, it is said that writing was invented because human beings were no longer able to remember and therefore needed it. The artist observes that “today, we struggle even to understand it, to decipher its essence”.
Ohanjanyan’s project invites us to reflect on this contemporary aspect of writing, on its duality as a symbol, where the boundary between the nodal substance and the ability to receive and assimilate it is almost imperceptible, but at the same time crucial. Thus, writing, like bonds, with all its richness, becomes indispensable for a new impetus and a new path, a crucial point at which the spark towards the unknown is ignited, requiring us to go beyond the perimeter of our personality and, in truth, to discover ourselves.

Those who manage to overcome their ties with themselves are connected with the Universe” – Rumi.

Biographies

Mikayel Ohanjanyan (b. 1976, Armenia) currently lives and works between Florence and Carrara.
He received his education at the State Academy of Fine Arts of Yerevan and the Academy of Fine Arts of Florence.

His artistic journey began with a classical training, which gradually evolved into a personal and exploratory expressive language. At the core of his work is the human being, explored in both its inner and outer dimensions. This artistic exploration is evident in the series Prospettive Introverse and Materialità dell’Invisibile, works that showcase a continuous and multifaceted evolution.
Currently, his research focuses on the theme of bonds, presented under the title Legami. In this series, the artist delves into the multiple facets of the concept of connection, from the physical to the metaphysical, investigating the relationship between being and essence, interpersonal connections, and those with nature and the universe.

Ohanjanyan has participated in numerous international events of significance. Among them, in 2015 he was one of the participant artists of the Armenian National Pavilion, winner of the Golden Lion at the 56th Biennale of Venice. In 2016, he presented two large site-specific installations for the La Statale Arte project at the University of La Statale in Milan. His project Diario was selected for the Frieze Sculpture Park, exhibited at Regent’s Park in London, and is now part of the permanent collection of the Yorkshire Sculpture Park.
In 2017, he participated in the 1st edition of STANDART, the Contemporary Art Triennial of Armenia, and in the same year, some of his works were exhibited at Fiac – On Site, displayed outdoors in front of the Petit Palais in Paris. In 2018, he won the E. Marinelli International Contemporary Art Prize for the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo in Florence, where his work is now part of the permanent collection.
Among other accolades, he has received the Targetti Light Art Prize (2009) and the Henraux Prize (2014).

Currently, Ohanjanyan is engaged in a liturgical project selected in a competition announced by the CEI / Vatican in 2021, which is intended for a new church dedicated to Don Giovanni Bosco in Bagheria, Sicily.

Mazdak Faiznia (b. 1982, Iran) is a contemporary art curator, living and working between Milan and Zurich, with a focus on intercultural and transcultural perspectives within the global ecosystems of contemporary art. After studying electronics in Iran, he moved to Italy in 2009, where he studied Painting at the Brera Academy of Fine Arts in Milan. Subsequently, in 2015, he obtained a Master’s degree in Visual Culture and Curatorship at the same academy. In 2021, he completed a Ph.D. in Cultural Economics and Management at the University of Rome Tor Vergata, with a dissertation on the sustainability challenges of non-profit organizations in contemporary art.

Since 2014, he has been the Artistic Director of the Faiznia Family Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to contemporary art and culture, for which he has curated numerous exhibitions and cultural projects, including: 2015 Curator of the National Pavilion of Iran at the 56th Venice Biennale, alongside Marco Meneguzzo, presenting the project The Great Game, which featured 52 contemporary artists from Iran, Armenia, Iraq, India, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Pakistan, and the Kurdish regions. In the same context, he curated the side event The Little Game Called Architecture. 2015 Project Dusting the Earth for the restoration of the sculpture Sfera by Arnaldo Pomodoro, part of the permanent collection of TMoCA in Tehran. 2016 Artistic Director of the collateral event Architecture for the People, by the People for the TMoCA Museum at the Venice Architecture Biennale and the project Rediscover Design at the XXI Milan Design Triennale. 2017 On the occasion of the Francophone countries summit in Armenia, he curated the major exhibition Soundlines of Contemporary Art across 7 museums and historical sites in Yerevan, featuring 70 artists from around the world. The event involved numerous institutions in the capital, with a rich public program, site-specific art productions, and workshops conducted by invited artists. 2019 Production of a large installation by Chiara Dynys for the retrospective exhibition Enlightening Book at the MACRO Museum in Rome, curated by Giorgio Verzotti. 2021 Publication of the monograph on Shahriar Ahmadi, edited by Marco Meneguzzo. 2022 Curator of the retrospective exhibition of Shahriar Ahmadi at the Niavaran Cultural Center. Mazdak Faiznia has also collaborated with publishing houses such as Skira, Silvana Editoriale, and Manfredi Maretti.

Since 2017, he has co-founded and been the Artistic Director of NOMAD Contemporary Heritage, a multidisciplinary platform for the creative and cultural industries, focused on transforming these industries through digital and technological innovations, sustainability, and social impact.

  • Mikayel Ohanjanyan, E... se non ci fosse la scrittura?, Assab One Studio 3, installation view. Photo by Nicola Gnesi
  • Mikayel Ohanjanyan, E... se non ci fosse la scrittura?, Assab One Studio 3. Photo by Nicola Gnesi
  • Mikayel Ohanjanyan, E... se non ci fosse la scrittura?, small sculpture, Assab One Studio 3. Photo by Nicola Gnesi
  • Mikayel Ohanjanyan, E... se non ci fosse la scrittura?, Assab One Studio 3, installation view.Photo by Nicola Gnesi