Mayrig

Dates

2014 - 2022
Author

Madelaine Ekserciyan

Mayrig in Armenian means mother. It is a long-term documentary photographic project where I delve into the axes that cross my motherland, Armenia. Being part of the diaspora, my family infected me with my attachment to my roots and my origin. I needed to understand better my history, where I came from. The camera served as an excuse to be able to talk to people and share moments of their day to day with them. Eight years ago, I began to go once or twice a year to meet my past. I noticed the commonalities in my story. The feeling so strong for the homeland and at the same time the constant sensation of instability, threat and loss.

Armenia is a country, a religion and a language. It is difficult to classify it. It can be said that it is a culture that from the beginning of its history suffered persecution until the most important, the genocide that began in 1915. This event was transcendental for the lives of my great-grandparents and continues to be a transgenerational trauma that drags on for generations until the present day. As part of the diaspora, we share a lot of our history, but at times the perspective is only from an outside observer. Children from a very young age are related to war, for example, the clothes they wear with camouflaged prints, the acts in the kindergarten where they perform defense drills in case of a possible attack situation, the cabinets with weapons in schools to be able to defend themselves and be prepared, some houses with shots in the facades among others.

The project shares the daily lives of children and especially those who live in border towns, what they have to go through in order to raise awareness of what we are allowing, a world that naturalizes war. Adolescents are dying every day in Armenia due to a political conflict over territory, they are deaths that could be avoided and it’s a responsibility to share what is happening. How can we think about the future if we are risking future generations?

© Madelaine Ekserciyan - A plastic swan on the shore of the Sean Lake, the most important lake in Armenia.

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A plastic swan on the shore of the Sean Lake, the most important lake in Armenia.

© Madelaine Ekserciyan - Image from the Mayrig photography project

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Ditavan is a very small town of approximately 350 inhabitants that is located a few meters from the border with Azerbaijan in which they are currently in conflict. Most of the young people from that town used to migrate to Russia in search of work and thus also be able to support their families. I know the people of that town, it is special for me and my family. They invited us to a lunch in the open air all together, first the women prepared the homemade bread that we ate warm and then we sat down to eat. There is usually too much food on the tables of Armenian meals and this was no exception. This image shows the remains.

© Madelaine Ekserciyan - Image from the Mayrig photography project

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In 1988 there was a very important earthquake in Gyumri, the second largest city in Armenia. The city was devastated. Haighui, who came from Russia long time ago, lived with his family in what was left of the container that they were provided at the time to pass the state of emergency that year. She lives with her husbands and two children. Four years ago she had the opportunity to move to a new house to start over, in a safe space for her and her family, but she was having a hard time feeling it as her new home. He tried to bring everything he had in his old home but it did not go in, although most of it did. She was not convinced with the idea but believed that it was the best for her entire family.

© Madelaine Ekserciyan - Image from the Mayrig photography project

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This photograph was taken on April 24 at Yerablur, the soldier's cemetery in Erevan. That same date is commemorated the day of the Armenian genocide. Usually in that cemetery were mostly the graves of the soldiers who defended Armenia in the Armenian genocide, but this year the scene was very different. It was full of new graves, of men some of whom were not even 20 years old.

© Madelaine Ekserciyan - Image from the Mayrig photography project

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A 8 year old boy pushing the rope, the onlyone who kept standing from this tea. very hard while on the other side of there were still standing and pushing the other team during their gymnastic class at school.

© Madelaine Ekserciyan - Armine is a eight year old girl waiting for her old sister to prepare her dinner. In the mean time, she plays.

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Armine is a eight year old girl waiting for her old sister to prepare her dinner. In the mean time, she plays.

© Madelaine Ekserciyan - Two brothers playing with their older cousin to built a house and protecting it from falling apart.

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Two brothers playing with their older cousin to built a house and protecting it from falling apart.

© Madelaine Ekserciyan - Two brothers playing in their home backyard.

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Two brothers playing in their home backyard.

© Madelaine Ekserciyan - Image from the Mayrig photography project

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Bavra is a small town of approximately 500 inhabitants in which it is located 500 meters from the border with Georgia, one of the few borders that are not in conflict at the moment. There was an event at school so the boys were put on their best clothes, some suits were made by their own mothers. They were in 1st grade.

© Madelaine Ekserciyan - The backyard of the primary and secundary school in Bavra.

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The backyard of the primary and secundary school in Bavra.

© Madelaine Ekserciyan - Image from the Mayrig photography project

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Around the world is in a small town 30 minutes from the capital of Erevan. Because of the cold winters everything is covered up in snow.

© Madelaine Ekserciyan - Chess class of a second grade in a small town calles Bavra. The girl is showing the boy that she just con the match.

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Chess class of a second grade in a small town calles Bavra. The girl is showing the boy that she just con the match.

© Madelaine Ekserciyan - Spongebob and Patrick painted on an ally in a street in Erevan. Spongebob is covered buy a tole.

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Spongebob and Patrick painted on an ally in a street in Erevan. Spongebob is covered buy a tole.

© Madelaine Ekserciyan - Spongebob and Patrick painted on an ally in a street in Erevan. Spongebob is covered buy a tole.

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Spongebob and Patrick painted on an ally in a street in Erevan. Spongebob is covered buy a tole.

© Madelaine Ekserciyan - Twin sisters waiting outside their kindergarten for their grandmother to come and pick them up.

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Twin sisters waiting outside their kindergarten for their grandmother to come and pick them up.

© Madelaine Ekserciyan - Two wild geese intersecting their necks just in the middle surrended by their little pigeons.

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Two wild geese intersecting their necks just in the middle surrended by their little pigeons.

© Madelaine Ekserciyan - Toy guns and paper flowers waiting in the chair before the kindergarten show starts.

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Toy guns and paper flowers waiting in the chair before the kindergarten show starts.

© Madelaine Ekserciyan - School act picture with frame in a school hall.

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School act picture with frame in a school hall.

© Madelaine Ekserciyan - Image from the Mayrig photography project

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Poster in the public street advertising the Armenian military service. Once men turn 18, military service is compulsory, though women may also join if the wanted to.

© Madelaine Ekserciyan - Image from the Mayrig photography project

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Minutes before a school act begins where the girls and boys made a small unconscious representation of what awaited them for life. The girls dressed in dresses and elegant clothes and the military boys. The demonstration had not started but the main girl already had one of the strips of her dress detached. It takes place in Karin Tag, a region in Nagorno Karapagh which is usually a conflict zone because of its location.