Mary Grigoryan
This artist loves to play with boundaries of the imaginary. Her artworks are vibrant, multilayered, abstract, surreal.
She mixes photography, abstract drawings, everyday elements, figures and emotions. As she has said many times her storms find their peace in her artworks, maybe they are the (i) of the storm. That’s why she has eyes in every artwork and she believes eyes are the gate to the soul, so, as long as the artwork has eyes, it has a soul, it can talk to you and inspire you, take you in and out.
Always focused on feeling, the artworks convey multitudes of symbolism, which she refuses to serve her audience on a silver platter. She wants the audience to submerge in the art, become part of it, live in the chaos for a moment and try to find their peace walking out. you see, the artist believes that however you interpret the art also says a lot about what you’re going through or what you’ve been through, so it’s like therapy in fact, but the difference is that you get to explore yourself and in your thoughts, you will be honest with yourself.
Explore the complexity of human emotion, the layers of impulse, vulnerability, strength, anger, hurt, power, passion and dive deep into the surreal.
01
Be Aware
This artwork was the starting point of my journey. This was the beginning of an unknown and unexplored experience I trusted myself to be part of.
In the beginning we are told to just be aware, to sit and observe our own selves, our own emotions and feelings, our own sanity and insanity. I didn’t know what to do or how to do it in the beginning but I could see shapes in the dark with my eyes closed and my mind engaged. The feelings and emotions would take shape. I saw a white whale splashing out of the water and I thought this could be an actual step. Every article in this art piece is an emotion. The genuine and the unfiltered.
02
Understand
Feeling feelings hurt, cut, grazed, scratched me all over. My brain, my heart, my soul were bleeding. I was not ready to have all my feelings faced and acknowledged. While my souls were bleeding, my eyes overflowed…
Զգացմունքները զգալը ուժեղ ցավացնում ա: Կտրում ա խորը, ճանկռում ներսից: Ուղեղս, սիրտս, հոգիս... արյուն կչռա: Չէի մտածում, որ ստիպված կլինեմ ընդունել որ զգացմունքներս կարևոր են:
Երբ հոգիներս արնահոսում էին, աչքերիցս ջուր գնաց...
03
Accept
Acceptance - I remember having that feeling when your nose and throat feel uneasy, when it feels like your brain and your heart are playing tug of war and there are clots of pain concentrated in those areas and moving up and down as if daring to acknowledge them. I wonder why that is…what do they want to indicate? Are they calling for help?.., a cry with no audible sound. Observe the artwork and you’ll know what I mean.
I need some air…
Հիշում եմ էն քթի ու կոկորդի տագնապային զգացումը, որ ոնց որ սիրտդ ու ուղեղդ խաղ են խաղում: Ինչի ա տենց, ինչ են իրանք ուզում ասած լինեն: Ինչ որ անձայն ճիչ ներսից, լա՞ց, կա՞նչ... նայեք,,, շնչեք
04
Forgive
Forgiveness - I spent months saying I can’t forgive. I was not ready for it. The first forgiveness meditation day I spent 40 minutes telling Marius that I am not going to forgive. it’s funny now thinking about it, as after the meditation, Marius was reminding me to give it more time and be more patient. But I knew I didn’t need all of that as I had already forgiven and let go. It was crazyyy! I just came to a realization in a single moment.
It dawned on me that my expectations are too high and holding people to high standards, expecting everyone to be decent and do the right thing is not realistic and it’s not fair actually. People don’t ask us to expect anything from them. It’s our choice, our doing, and all these expectations sometimes lead to unnecessary suffering.
I remember the realization coming to me and in just one second I realized, some people are shit, and you can’t expect anything else from them. And it is not even their fault. We all are products of our environment and people just turn up how they turn up. A lot of people don’t have the luxury of having positive influences in their lives. Sad or not, that’s the reality.
All this time I kept thinking - ¿why? I wanted to know why they did what they did. But I realized that’s an unfair question, an impossible one. Even if I grabbed them and demanded an answer, they wouldn’t be able to give me one. I had spent so much time thinking about the “why”, I never thought about the kind of answer I was expecting. And there is no answer. There can be no justification. I was chasing the question that had no answer. Kind of a self destructive cycle; like the snake eating its own tail.
I heard something today: it went - when a snake bites you you don’t chase them around for answers, asking why they bit you and that you didn’t deserve to be hurt ,, wasting all that time while the poison is still in your body. Chasing something unattainable instead of helping yourself heal from it.
Sometimes people are shit,,, and all you can do is accept that.