Sevan Garo in conversation with Shoair Mavlian

SM - Some of your previous work has taken the surrounding landscape as the starting point. Is this a
continuation of the way you see your everyday surroundings, and the landscape being an essential
part of our lives that should not be ignored?

SG - I find myself constantly referring and gesturing towards the 'landscape' - it's almost like I'm
paying homage to a space subconsciously. I feel like there's a constant dialogue between me and the
landscape and this is something that my past work helps to reinforce with my newer works, be it a
sculpture, painting, film or photography. I think that we've only scratched the surface of what the arts
can get from the landscape. The changes that take place are not only physical and geological, but
cultural and more scarily, political.

SM - Has this interest in landscape been influenced by your past experiences, where you lived etc.?

SG - For sure. As a kid I grew up in Snowdonia and often visited family in the Alps, so from an early
age I have been surrounded by mountains and powerful geological landscapes. Visiting the Alps from
Snowdonia was like a kind of 'pilgrimage' if you like, to this huge, dangerous and visually imposing
place. I'm also half Armenian - my Dad grew up in Cyprus after my Grandmother fled Armenia the
Ottoman Empire during the Genocide. So I also feel that there is an Armenian landscape which I have
yet to experience physically, I have so far only experienced this landscape through my father's
memories. You could say that I've got a physical pilgrimage to one landscape and a metaphorical or
conceptual pilgrimage to another. Conceptually, this exploration is proving to have significant
undertones in my work.

SM - Interestingly the Glacier works were made in the French Alps, a location which was not
previously familiar to you does the work have a more universal meaning in relation to landscape and
how you can be connected to a certain location without ever being there?

SG - My connection to the Alps is through my family who live there and our childhood visits to see
them. I was always fascinated by the size and power of the mountains and glaciers. Having said that,
I do think art can be cross cultural and universal and what I'm doing is a good test of that. From an
environmental, geological and political perspective, glaciers affect everyone. This inevitably connects
all of us to places we have never been to, often without us realising. In this sense, we are all in one
way or another connected to glaciers, whether it is because of the effects of glaciation on a landscape
which effects agriculture, weather systems and climate, or the cultures that develop and live within it.
Just imagine if glaciers hadn't carved their way through our landscapes, how different would it be, how
different our culture would be?

SM - The element of time, capturing time, the passing of time is an integral part of the project and
very present in this work. By attempting to capture something that is constantly moving you are
attempting to stop something that cannot be stopped. Does this desire to capture something refer to
something lost, a lost past, the turning back or freezing of time?

SG - Well they say that you 'don't know what you've got until it's gone', right? I am definitely trying to
capture a fragile moment in order to trigger a discussion around the issue of climate change, art and
science. I'm capturing something that we're losing.

I hope that this work can exist on many different levels. Some people look at the Glacier Works and
say they simply like how it 'looks', others take it to another level and like the alchemy behind the
materials. Others relate more to the geological aspects while some focus on the political aspects and
what the 'landscape' means to them. I think this is the essence of conceptual art. All these levels of
appreciation are what's necessary to further develop mine and others understanding of what is
gradually disappearing, on a multidisciplinary level. For me, many of these concepts are underpinned
by my understanding of what has happened in Armenia. Armenia's landscape was formed physically
by it's geology like everywhere else, but culturally has been scarred (just like glacial striations)



through Genocide. This instantly effects how we view the landscape, and shapes our understanding
of the culture. Essentially what I'm doing is preserving and capturing a split second of how a
landscape appears within the context of culture. Because whether we like it or not, we will all see our
landscapes differently, both physically and also culturally, in the not so distant future.

SM - The work captures the landscape as a powerful force but at the same time shows its fragility. Is
there an element of wanting to capture this fragility, something that is lost or is going to be lost? Is it
important that the end product encapsulates these two opposing things, power and fragility?

SG - I hope that the works capture the raw and fragile power of a Glacier, because that's exactly what
they are. I'm capturing a fleeting moment in the life of the Glacier which will never be seen again. It
doesn't exist anymore. That 'object' if you like, will never be seen or touched again. That thought is
not only haunting but it reinforces the vulnerability and raw power of nature. Ironically, Glaciers are
also at our mercy. Climate change is having a devastating impact on our Glaciers. All over the world
they are retreating at a terrifying speed. I am hoping to visit Patagonia later this year to cast Glacier
Works to highlight this, as well as mark the 150th anniversary of Welsh settlers in Patagonia. I think
we have a huge responsibility towards climate change and the real impact it is having on our
landscapes which I am hoping to demonstrate through these works.

SM - The process of making the Glacier works is complex and dangerous and the process takes
place over many stages. The idea of leaving a cast out in the elements and returning to collect it has
a somewhat romantic aspect to it, but equally the practical process as a whole is integral to the
success of the work. Is it important for this process to be present in the finished work?

SG - I think there is still an allure around how any art work is made and this is all part of the finished
product. In order to make these works I had a team and we had to make our way down a mountain
and onto a Glacier. It was returning the following day during the start of a huge storm when it got
really dangerous. The risk of rockfalls and avalanches almost put an end to the project and only
increased the need to get it done! This all definitely contributes to an element of romanticism, and it
comes out of respect for the Glacier. Leaving the moulds overnight at the mercy of the ice and rock
and not being certain that it was going to work was pretty stressful... but it also creates a dialogue
between me and the Glacier.

SM - You have chosen (or eventually would like to) use materials that derive from natural minerals, is
it important to keep this connection and link the work back to the earth in its final stage?

SG - It depends on how far down the line of 'imitation' I want to go. I could use the ice from the Glacier
and exhibit that, but I feel that there would be something quite aggressive and destructive about that.
My current casting technique leaves the glacier without a trace. In the past I've ground up my own
pigments from the site to create the works in order to somehow be true to the location. However I
have found that if I'm trying so hard to re-create the exact conditions and material content I might as
well just dig out the site and display it. This then becomes so violent and destructive it ruins the
concept, so it's about finding a balance. I've got a show in September at Galeri Caernarfon in Wales
where this will be explored further.

SM - I like the idea that this is the landscape in its most abstract form. It is simply a mould of what a
very specific part of the landscape was at a certain point in time. Was it always your intention to
deconstruct the landscape to its most abstract?

SG - I approach my work from the perspective of a painter and sculptor. This gives me a two and a
half dimension approach to depicting the landscape. By this I mean that I'm starting the process from
the perspective of a painter on a flat surface. Then extending my medium out, which enters the realm
of sculpture. As a painter there's this constant battle with the question of 'depiction' and how you
apply the paint to reflect the painting's context or narrative. I wanted to take it back to its bare
minimum, because on the surface of a Glacier, this in itself is highly abstract. I found that the more I
could deconstruct the concept and formal elements and removed the 'look' of the work, the more I
could get beyond the surface appearance and closer to the core of the work - this process leads to a
really interesting level of abstraction which I'm going to continue to explore.

Veranstaltungszeit: Mo. - Sa. 12:00 - 20:00 Uhr

Quelle: mytoro.de