This powerful and poignant work evokes the tragic exodus of Armenians during the 1914 genocide, across the vast, arid expanses of the Deir Ezzor desert. It is an imprint of memory, a testimony carved in pain and resilience.
On either side, the desert stretches out, implacable and silent, a mute witness to wandering and suffering. In its center, the Euphrates, bearer of life, becomes a funereal river, carrying the bodies of thirsty and starving martyrs, and some massacred. Its impassive current carries the weight of the tragedy, mingling the water with the memory of spilled blood.
On the upper right bank, a cemetery emerges, a sanctuary for departed souls. This is where the victims lie, laid to rest one by one after crossing the bridge of exodus. In the lower right, a funeral cart, a frail vehicle of destiny, carries the bodies beyond the threshold of life, in a silent procession toward eternity.
At the heart of the work, a symbol emerges: the cross, a symbol of Armenian Christianity, erected as a final landmark in the tumult of disappearance. From its side flows a drop of blood, a tear frozen in matter, a vibrant reminder of sacrifice and martyrdom.
