Abel Hartooni

The Re-embodiment of the fragments, dispersed
(after Toros Roslin)

Soo contemporary, Tehran, 2020
Part of Resemblance curated by Fatemeh Kazemi

The re-embodiment of fragments dispersed (after Toros Roslin) is an extended painting project which was installed at Soo contemporary (Tehran) in 2020 in a group show called Resemblence, curated by Fateme Kazemi.

The main conceptual framework of the work emerged from the fascinating story of the Canon tables from Zeytun Gospels, painted by Toros Roslin in 13th century, and the aftermath of their fragmentation and displacement from the main body of the book during the Armenian genocide (1915-1923).
In accordance to this dispersion I intended to remake a fragmented and abstract interpretation of the paintings which could break the wholeness of the picture as a single entity in the first place, and moreover the boundaries of painting as a medium. During the process of making this piece, several ideas and concepts were juxtaposed in order to emphasize on this un-whole-ness.

The installation consisted of 10 framed acrylic paintings on canvas, which depicted a single ray of light in a dark room, paintings with spray on paper, laser-cut woods ornamented with acrylics, acrylic paintings with pouring technique on found wrecked wood, a central wooden sculpture of the figure of Crane painted with acrylics and spray paints also on found wood materials and a mattock.

The central figure of the crane (Krunk in armenian,Turna in turkish and Kolang in persian) is of significant importance in the collective subconscious of the Armenian diaspora. It is represented many times in Armenian literature and folkloric music as a sign of lamentation for the lost homeland. But alongside the Armenian readingsof this immigrant bird, her mobility and constant change of place has made her a cross-cultural figure with various connotations. In Persiancthe word Kolang means both a crane and a mattock. I tried to relate hose both meanings influenced by how persian paradox works in Persian poetry. Here the crane signifying both a figure whom we wait to bring news from the lost homeland and the beloved one -as it is addressed in Turkish literature- and simultaneously an object which has been used to cause the evident destruction in the space.