The Cellar

The project “Universe 69” is composed of co-working workshop and exhibition with young artists from Gyumri, Armenia and Tokyo, Japan. The exhibition was held in The Gallery of Mariam and Eranuhi Aslamazyan Sisters.
In Aleksandrapol (current Gyumri), the civil architecture were widely spread with big cellars. The building of the gallery, which is former residence, also had a cellar. They had used it not only as refrigerator, but wine vaults. After the catastrophic earthquake in 1988, the place was filled with concrete for antiseismic reinforcement and floor level rose drastically. Because of that, people couldn’t use there as before and left for a long time. It embalms the scar under the brand-new gallery space.

2週間ほどギュムリ（アルメニア）に滞在し、制作した作品。会場にかつてあった大きな地下室は、1988年の大地震の後、耐震補強としてコンクリートで埋め立てられていた。震災のトラウマを可視化しているそのコンクリートを、美術館付近で工事をしていた人々に分けてもらった赤土で覆い、古いランプを一つ灯した。