Damascus Gallery

Hrair Sarkissian lives and works in Damascus. Formed in a photographic laboratory for twelve years, he works as an independent photographer in Damascus. Hrair has shown his work in different exhibitions in the Middle East: The "Meeting Points" festival in Amman, Jordan; The "Photography Days" festival Damascus, Syria; The International Photo Gathering in Aleppo, Syria in 2001 and 2002. He has also shown work and in the "Voices off" of the International Photography Festival in Arles, France in 2004 and at the Contemporary Art Center "Le Creux de l'enfer" in Thiers in 2003. Hrair has participated in various workshops and residencies including "Here at the Center of the World" in Khartoum, Sudan in 2006; "Terre de rÍve" in Seville, Spain in 2006; The French Cultural Center in Amman, Jordan in 2006; and Merzouga in Morocco in 2005. For the workshop Hrair took a more conceptual approach to his subject matter. He chose to photograph the nine doors to the Old City of Damascus. Using Photoshop he closed each door with a curtain, the type used on construction sites in Damascus. With his city map he marks the exact location of each door, some now hard to find as they disappear into the contemporary urban development of the city.

Email hrairsark@yahoo.com