Named “Melancholia” this statue truly expresses the feeling that has been increasingly affecting humankind in the last century that has witnessed two world wars. Installed in front of Armenian Center for Contemporary Experimental Art building this art piece is challenging us with the question: “what has changed since then”, that is 1959, the year this sculpture was created, for it seems so modern. The statue represents an androgynous person who has buildings inside his/her abdomen. With his/her dramatic facial expression it really makes me think that he/she is anxious because, having been alienated from nature, he/she can’t cope with the urban impact of this epoch.
Next to the above-mentioned argument, which is claimed by different art critics, I think there’s another reason for being troubled. In my opinion Ervand Khochar, the great master of this work, refers to ancient Greek legend about our hermaphroditic past narrated by Plato, according to which once the two sexes were united in one body. After Zeus punished them, they became separated and since then we are longing for our halves to feel re-connected and complete with ourselves. Is this the true reason lying behind the statue’s diagnosis? Anyway, this is my perception; you may not agree with it after seeing the statue for yourself, which made me highly empathic after my last visit. As the day was getting darker I felt that the melancholic expression of statue face was sharpening. Whether this is just my own personal insight, you will know by visiting this masterpiece.
