By Agnes Nazarian
Anaeis Ohanian is an Iranian-Armenian multidisciplinary artist who creates art using
issues such as environmental change, social awareness, and the imaginary. She uses
her art to create an immersive experience that appeals to all of the senses, leaving
viewers feeling a little scared but intrigued about the future. She believes her work
serves as a warning sign to hypothetical situations that could occur in the future. Three
components make up her biggest project, Objekthood, which is still a work in progress.
Objekthood revolves around a hypothetical future based on our actions and how we
respond to the current environmental crisis. Her biggest source of inspiration comes
from the earth, and she draws heavily on her experiences through traveling, reading,
and researching various scientific theories in her work. Recently, she has started
creating art that raises social awareness of the challenges that both her Armenian and
Iranian cultures have faced. The biggest challenge she has faced as an artist is to allow
her art to run freely and leave it up to the viewer to put the puzzle pieces together. She
believes that letting go of perfectionism and control has been so liberating and it has
allowed her art to evolve. Today, she views herself equally as an artist and
businesswoman and she embraces that wholeheartedly. All her focus has been on a
travel diary she is creating, which she believes allows viewers to see a more intimate
side of her. Below, I have attached some of her work from Objekthood. More information
on Objekthood and some of Anaeis’ other projects can be found on her website at
https://anaeis.com/.
“Kelvin”
All Wahashm clothing and technologies were made of rummaged remanences of
Apponastos products and waste. Her scarf made with thermoelectric cooling technology
also stood as a representation of monument moments in her life. Her necklace, a
Wahashm staple served as an electroshock weapon controlled by her mind. The
necklace was also used to climb towers of consumer goods that existed within the
City of Apponastos. Instruments wrapped around their fingers were used as a form of communication during their purposeful operations.
“Rocks of the Wahashm CE 6007”
The high temperatures of 438 degrees near their barbaric camp had caused the plastic to
merge into the earth, eliminating nature as we knew it, creating rock from our plastics.
“Kuá Hakké Springs Boulder Formations CE 2937”
In the year 2973, a massive heat wave took over the North American region of the
world, due to global warming. The Kuá Hakké Springs formed at extreme
temperatures from the overabundance of abandoned consumer waste including
plastics, fabrics, and everyday items. The calefaction disintegrated the fibers, solidifying
them into sedimentation that formed the hollow shapes of the stacked boulders.