Helen Sheehan. Researcher. Contemporary Armenian diaspora : objects, narratives, histories. March 2013.

Introduction:

Since 2010 I have been researching Armenian family histories through the Paris and London diaspora. This is part of an overall research project that uses photography and sound to evoke the experience of exile and memory through objects. My aim in coming to Manchester is to make contact with members of the Armenian community here who are willing to share their stories with me in order create awareness in the wider community 

here in the United Kingdom. 

Specifically, I want to raise consciousness of the historical disappeared or exiled Armenian communities of present-day Eastern Turkey. To do this, I will interview participants and photograph their chosen objects, and then journey between Manchester, London and former Armenian provinces of Ottoman Turkey where participants’ ancestors originated.

I will take with me and photograph the participants’ objects in those landscapes, and then return to England to make the final work and exhibit it. The exhibition will reach live and online audiences. The 40-page catalogue (e- and hard copy) will contain an essay by acclaimed author Peter Balakian (whose ancestors came from the region in question), who is committed to my work. I will work with artist-designer Val Bogan on the e- and print work. 

Background:

My first contact with the diaspora came in Venice in 1990 where I worked for a year as an English teacher on St. Lazzaro Island, one of the oldest communities outside the historic homeland. In 1992 I was commissioned by the BBC world service to send a series of reports from the newly independent Armenia. One of the interviews conducted was with

the former Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Robert Runcie who was visiting Armenia on an ecumenical mission for dialogue with the Armenian church.

By sheer coincidence most of the families that I have been interviewing in Paris and London since 2010 have family links to Diyarbakir and Zeytoun. This has resulted in me the artist/ researcher photographing in unfamiliar places where the social mores are dramatically different to my own

These epic journeys take me to places which are alien to me but connected to the families’ communal heritage and memories. I grew up in Ireland where I often visited the remote parts of that country in the west where abandoned stone houses still stand as evidence to a people who died or were exiled during the great famine of the 1840s. 

I make a connection to Eastern Turkey whereas a photographer I am searching for traces of the Armenian existence. In pursuing this research I am reflecting on the nature of my own experience as someone who feels exiled from my own past through a rupture with the Irish language and a sense that there is a collective trauma that remains. It is so far back in the past that people no longer want to engage with it. 

This identification arises from something that lies hidden in my consciousness; it is half understood and full unanswered questions.  In searching for the disappeared past of the Armenians I am also searching for my lost own ‘lost world’ and ancestral connection. 

Concerns: 

If you are willing to share family history for this project you can choose to be anonymous or reveal your identity. A contract explaining the project will be available and this is a legal document designed to protect you. 

 I am particularly interested in people whose ancestors came from Diyarbakir, Zeytoun, Arabkir and Marash. If you also have any treasured objects that survived your ancestors journey from historic Armenia I would like to photograph them. 

Pending funding from the Arts Council of England I will undertake this project which would mean several trips to Manchester and a commitment by participants to engage with the research questions.

It can be an enriching experience for the participants  and researcher which can help contribute to a better understanding of the place where your ancestors came from and the

legacy of their existence in the United Kingdom.  

If you have any further questions concerning this project and research you can contact me

on helen_sheehan@hotmail.com

Recent exhibitions, research and events.

31/01/13-03/02/13. Salon Mashup: Displacement and Regeneration, Armenian perspectives of loss and resettlement, A three day collaborative event featuring art exhibitions, installations, music, theatre. Participating Artist/ Photographer.

April 2012. Palazzo Zenobio per L’ Arte Collegio Armeno Moorat Raphael: Diyarbakir Dikranagerd.with the work of Armin T. Wegner ‘ Immagini e testimonianze’ 1915.

March 2012. Research in Progress: Pushing boundaries and practices: Objects from Diyarbakir Dikranageard and Zeytoun. London College of communication.

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