Khachkar

“khachkar”
materials: cotton tablecloths, cotton bedsheets, wool yarn, embroidery thread, safety pins, tassels, twisted silk rope, leather scraps, staples, acrylic paint, woven bracelets

In Armenian culture, khachkars are carved stone crosses made for the salvation of one’s soul, either alive or dead. As over one hundred thousand ethnic Armenians were displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh earlier this fall, they were forced to leave their khachkars behind, and with them, over two millennia of faith, remembrance and salvation. This khachkar, made of fabric instead of stone and equipped with backpack straps, is erected for salvation of the Artsakhi soul, one that remains alive, weary and adrift. It was sewn together using upcycled fabric scraps both by machine and by hand.