Anna-Lea Kopperi: Mother Armenia, Yerevan
Completion year: 2014
Technique: Stories of good motherhood collected in public by 3 pairs of interviewers in exchange to 10 kg cherries, Mashtots Park, Yerevan
Keywords: performanssi, happening, haastattelu, luonto, käsitetaide, yhteisötaide, historia, yhteiskunta, ihminen, syntymä, kuolema, lapsi, äiti, hedelmät, kirsikat
Mothers share their stories in the exchange event in exchange to Armenian cherries they may eat with their children. Six young women bearing grape leaves and cherries interview in pairs mothers about the moment, when the mother discovered to be a good mother for her child, about her other roles and dreams as well as about changes supporting to make the dreams come true.
Named after the nation’s protective symbol Mother Armenia, the event brings into public the roles of the Caucasian mother supposed to hide mainly in the closed home space by opening the mythic concept of motherhood. The encounters become empowering experiences for the participating women. The entire process reveals a cross-sectional picture of the Armenian mother told by mothers themselves.
Mother Armenia documentary film is made from the exchange happening in Mashtots Park, length 15’30’’.