AFTERWARDS: The Dissolution of Human Traces
Karen Arakel, Roman Babakhanian, Mehmet Resul Kaçar, Roman Kakoyan, David Martirosyan, Sergey Narazyan, Arthur Tonakanyan

March 14 – May 5, 2024

Galeri 77 is hosting a very special exhibition between March 14 and May 5, bringing together the striking works of Karen Arakel, Roman Babakhanian, Mehmet Resul Kacar, Roman Kakoyan, David Martirosyan, Sergey Narazyan and Arthur Tonakanyan from its artist portfolio. “Afterwards: The Dissolution of Human Traces” is an exhibition that explores the complex and exploitative relationship between nature and humans and depicts the journey of the disappearance of human footprint. Through thought-provoking artworks and immersive images, it is an invitation to reassess our relationship with nature, our profound impact on the delicate balance of our planet's ecosystem, and our role as inhabitants of the Earth. A contemplative experience to imagine a world where humans no longer exist, explore the possible outcomes, and reflect on our role in shaping nature's destiny.

Today, there is more than one way to communicate the urgency of adopting sustainable practices and protecting the biodiversity that allows all life to continue in delicate balance. “Afterwards: The Dissolution of Human Traces” chooses to do so not by shouting and showing potential dangers as a threat, but rather as a memoir or a biography of nature through experiences. Through the works in the selection, we see the traces of civilization and what people have left behind. The exhibition presents us with snapshots of the lives of scraps, ruins and remnants that will not be able to mix with nature for thousands of years; then we go even further to a time when the planet we live in reclaims what belongs to it, a time that humanity will probably never experience. To the advanced stages of nature's self-healing process, thousands of years after human civilization, a utopia, a dream...

Where we see a lack of human figures amongst the works in the exhibition, we see a cumulative reflection of human hubris, ambition, and actions. This selection of mostly landscapes is at times dark, dystopian, and full of humanity's footprints, but at other times vibrant, colorful, and depicting a utopia that has regained its former might. Nature on one side, man on the other and an amalgam of the two.