Illustrations inspired by the novel “Skin Pain”
The series of photo-collages is inspired by a cinematic and highly surrealistic novel Skin Pain written by Hovhanness Teqgyozyan, who is an Armenian contemporary writer and my friend.
The 13 collages represent only 7 characters of the novel that from my point of view construct the core of the plot. I have taken the liberty of adding, or better summarizing, one more character, The System, which, although not represented separately in the novel, plays an important role in the construction of relationships between the other characters as an "unwritten code," and also comes across in some appearances made by various authority officials: policemen, nurses, priests etc.
One of Teqgyozyan's novels, The Fleeting City, has recently been translated into English and will be published on February 2016. The translation of the Skin Pain is on it's way.
Personal note: I remember once, we were sitting in one of the cafes in Yerevan, talking about literature, politics, and art, when Hovhanness mentioned he sometimes feels haunted by his own characters, they have their own life and do not always want to obey him. I felt the same working on these photo-collages.