Hrair Sarkissian: The Other Side of Silence

Overview

The Other Side of Silence is the first monograph of the artist Hrair Sarkissian – one of the leading figures working with photography globally today. This cerebral book of multi-disciplinary essays and images explores histories of disappearance, the architecture of violence, and the potential of the medium of photography itself. While encompassing the moving image, sculpture, sound, and installation, Sarkissian’s practice is rooted in his photographs. His life-long use of a large-format camera relates to the artist’s interest in the role that chance plays in capturing hidden narratives of conflict, trauma, and displacement. Acting as an archaeologist and a storyteller, the artist draws upon personal and collective memory to reveal stories that official records cannot tell. The viewer is invited to consider the formal aspects of the image, to breathe in its silence and to interrogate what might live beneath its surface.

The monograph is edited by Omar Kholeif and Theodor Ringborg, and includes essays by Hannah Feldman, Marianne Hirsch, Kholeif, Vali Mahlouji, Todd Reisz and Ringborg.