Sevan on My Skin
A sweltering Yerevan summer, a pilgrimage to Lake Sevan, and the shock of diving into its icy waters. Maria Gunko captures the sensory journey of heat, relief, memory, and the joy of feeling comfortable in your own skin.
Tag: maria gunko
Symbols or Spectacle? Armenia’s Pavilions at Venice and Milan
A critical reflection on Armenia’s national pavilions at the 2025 Triennale Milano and Venice Biennale of Architecture, Maria Gunko explores how they navigate themes of heritage, technology and everyday architecture, offering contrasting visions of authenticity, identity and the politics of representation.
13:20 Ruin Bar: A Sanctuary for Spirits, Distilled and Human
Tucked away in central Yerevan, 13:20 Ruin Bar is a hidden sanctuary for spirits, both distilled and human. Blending DIY aesthetics, cultural preservation and underground allure, it is redefining heritage through decay, experimentation and quiet defiance.
Sisian: Where Mediocrity Meets the Sublime
A work trip to Sisian unfolds from dreary mediocrity into an unexpected revelation. Through the evocative paintings of Armen Hakobjanyan, Sisian’s stark landscapes transform, revealing a timeless beauty hidden beneath the town’s crumbling surfaces, and quiet melancholy.
The Subtle Details of Syunik’s Cities
A journey through Syunik’s cities reveals overlooked details: laundry lines, rustwoven structures, and abandoned railways, that tell richer, more intimate stories of place than tourist checklists ever could. Maria Gunko’s reflection on memory, materiality and urban meaning.
Nocturnal Yerevan
Maria Gunko explores the city’s transformation after dark, where familiar spaces shift, new rhythms emerge, and urban night pulses with secrecy, revelry and uncertainty. From hidden bars to shadow economies, it captures the mystery, intimacy and contradictions of Yerevan’s nocturnal self.
Reading Metsamor, the Armenian Nuclear City
Metsamor embodies a complex interplay of post-Soviet deindustrialization, utopian aspirations, and organic transformation. Once a symbol of Soviet modernity, it now reveals a layered reality—marked by decay, resilience and the unplanned vibrancy of everyday life.
Tracing Armenian Heritage in Venice
Delving into the rich cultural legacy of Venice’s San Lazzaro degli Armeni island, Maria Gunko reflects on the enduring significance of Armenian heritage around the world, the beauty of discovery, and the philosophical charm of places seemingly untouched by time.
Not Just Rusty Metal: What Fences in Armenia Reveal About the State
Fences made from radiators are a powerful symbolic and tangible point of inquiry into the entangled history of Armenia's (de)modernization, which is linked to the dynamics of colonialism and independence, as well as the different state practices in the making.
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