Diana Markosian

Absence, memory, and reconciliation: Father is a deeply personal and autobiographical exhibition by artist Diana Markosian that reflects on how decisions shape who we become.

Born in Moscow, at the age of seven Markosian left Russia with her mother and older brother to relocate to California. It is a move across the world that would solidify, and seemingly finalize, a fracturing of her family that had already taken place.

Her parents had separated before she was born, and by the time they moved her father was, in many ways, already absent from her life. Once in America, her mother sought to remove even the image of him from their lives by cutting his picture out of family photographs.

For Markosian’s father, her and her brother became missing children whom he tried to find for years. His absence created a profound sense of mystery and confusion in Markosian as she looked for him, both literally and emotionally, in different men.

With no picture to remind her nor address to direct her, Markosian eventually set out to find her father in Armenia – fifteen years after she last saw him.

This exhibition captures Markosian’s attempt to build a relationship with him over a decade, with each visit revealing new complexities about the parent she lost and how that loss, originally and over time, came to shape the person Markosian had become.

With her work, she refuses to assign blame, instead inviting empathy for both sides. Father serves as a reflection on the therapeutic power of art – on how creating can be a way of processing, understanding and ultimately accepting. Through her story and exhibition, we are reminded that family ties are never perfect – and that art can offer a space for collective healing.

Credits

Father is co-curated by Marie-Luise Mayer, Exhibitions Manager at Fotografiska Berlin, in collaboration with the artist. The exhibition is co-produced by Les Rencontres d’Arles and Foam, Amsterdam.