Do Not Lean This series of photographs explores the intersection of reality and art through the metaphor of a subway window. The text "Do Not Lean," commonly seen on subway doors, becomes a focal point as it moves over the backdrop of dilapidated post-Soviet landscapes in Yerevan. The work navigates the tension between the reality outside the window and the framing of that reality by art. Combining mimetic traditions and modernist “art for art’s sake,” these windows neither fully represent reality nor purely art. Instead, they act as gazes, aware of the socio-cultural context shaping both what is seen and the act of seeing. The black frame of the window and the red text merge with the crumbling landscape, signaling the collapse of past ideologies and the precarious existence of post-Soviet spaces. This highlights how culture functions as a system of signs that mediates our understanding of the world. The urban environment in the photographs, once functional in Soviet times, now stands abandoned, reflecting the instability and abandonment felt in post-Soviet life. The fragility of the human body is linked to the decay of the urban landscape, showing how personal and societal identities intertwine with cultural and ideological structures.

Through the interplay of text and image, this series invites reflection on the complex, discursive nature of perception and reality, where neither can be separated from the socio-cultural systems that frame them.

Medium: print paper / light box Dimensions: A3 Date: 2006