The Fires That Bind Us

The Fires That Bind Us gathers together different series that have been echoing each other. This collection explores the theme of the clan and by extension the concept of belonging, through the narratives that run through it and the remote imaginary places that family legends recount.

(…) Je viens d’une famille de jardiniers, paysagistes, pépiniéristes, horticulteurs, fleuristes. For five generations the men of my clan have organized space, and sought to maintain and discipline it. They have pruned trees, carried off and burned plant waste; kept a watchful eye over fires; towed away roots; raked the leaves of yards littered with gravel; planted hedges; delivered flowers; adorned funerals, baptisms, birthdays and weddings; and participated in all the rituals that shape lives. The scent of orange blossoms has a transfixing effect on our family. Its perfume leaves us stunned and brings to mind withered flowers, green moss, sheared stems, and rising sap.
Fire is the crux of this structure. It is a highly symbolic catalyst that acts as a rallying force. The landscapes of Armenia are made up of great charred deserts, military viewpoints that are depopulated of bellicose events. hey are places of gunshots and lookouts, We see my brother’s soot-covered face (…) We see my brother’s soot-covered face (…)
M. L.