À la recherche de la lumière perdue
Armenia
2022
“We create wars, we hate them, and we create them again.
We create them out of idleness, ignorance and fear. We create darkness and we try to find light within so as not to turn mad. …
We gradually move away from why we were born: to live, admire, marvel and create life. We abandon our dreams, leaving behind the lives of innumerable young people, pain and cries … .
All of our people’s generations are familiar with the smell of canon powder …, the smell of damp and the powerful sensation of it breaking your bones, the howling and unbearable sound of war.
Blessed be the day when all this will be unfamiliar to us, when the smell and taste of war are no longer associated with anything.”
Areg Balayan, Artsakh, 2020
Portfolio
About the artist
Born in Erevan (Armenia) in 1980, Areg Balayan studied graphic arts at the Igityan Art Institute. He started a career as an independent photographer in 2005 after serving in the army for two years. As the director of the PAN Photo office in High–Karabakh, he collaborates regularly with international institutions such as the UN, the UNDO and the YMCA. In 2020, Areg Balayan documented the conflict that took place in the Taut region and the 44-day war in High–Karabakh.