Ani Volkan

Family Icon
polyester plate lithography on fabric with embroidery and grandmother’s doilies
14 x 11.5 in.

My work is pieced together with the thread of my Armenian family and its traditions. I weave history and heritage, where fragments of cloth with printed imagery reference the act of storytelling.

I create art that simultaneously reflects the familiar, the universal trope of the animal character, and the fantastical, the letters of another language, the Armenian alphabet, showing through. These themes represent both reality, a part of who I am, and mythology, as Armenia is a land I have never been to, full of stories about lakes that the tears of a goddess created, “devs” who are demons, neither good nor evil, and the resting place of Noah’s ark. They show how deeply we need stories in our lives to grasp the richness of our identities.

In the artwork, sewing is an integral part of creation because it combines the past work of my family with current practices. The artwork is printed on a fabric that is a physical representation of this family, and their love of quilts.

© Ani Volkan