alternativ

Charentsavan, Armenia

fall 2019

What is an alternative to the neo-liberal idea of wellness, where hyper-individualistically derived modes of mental and physical therapy are not utilized? How does this alternative not propose a hegemonic emphasis on the wellbeing of the collective at the expense of the individual, as seen in the soviet model of sanatoria? How should this dialectical positioning of the betterment of the individual and the collective be re-perceptualized in order to reveal their inherent codependency? 

Taking into consideration these questions, and the the post-soviet Armenian context of Charentsavan, a city that has an infrastructure in place but disconnected from the rest of the world, we are proposing Alternativ.  This project is conceived as alternative framework of societal health, a place where people who lack a support network in society can find one. Marginal identities are physically centralized, and through a nexus of connections, they are afforded a safe space that is not secluded.  

Inspired by the connective industrial past of Charentsavan and the semi-ruinous state of its factories, we have reinterpreted found objects and placed them as screens, frames creating new spaces, transparencies, and atmospheres.

Advisor: Aleksandr Mergold + Lori Katchadourian

Team: Ihwa Choi, Josue Perez Campos

Featured in KooZA/rch, Cornell Student Works