Writing, in its deepest essence, is much more than a simple medium of communication: it is a bridge between the past and the present, a witness to our being and a vehicle of knowledge and wisdom.
Mikayel Ohanjanyan’s installation, realised for the premises of Assab One, stems from a reflection on the history of the place that hosts this work: a space with a long tradition linked to writing, a former printing factory where art catalogues and encyclopaedias were printed. The artist’s current research focuses on the theme of ‘bonds’, which are always the result of a profound observation of the infinite forms of human ties: bonds with ourselves, between our inner and outer worlds, with others, whether physical or metaphysical, with nature and the universe. On this occasion, the artist addresses the theme of writing, aware of its importance in our civilisation, but also of its duality.

The question “And… If there was no writing?” is not just a provocation, but an invitation to rethink this fundamental medium, perhaps to re-evaluate the way we use it and to consider how we might transcend it. The oldest archaeological evidence for the invention of writing is found in the Sumerian poem Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta, the first of a cycle narrating the conflict between the cities of Uruk and Aratta around 3000 BC. This poem does not describe armed clashes, but rather recounts the comings and goings of a messenger who conveys the thoughts of the two kings. The most significant moment is when the king of Uruk, finding himself having to transmit a message too complex to be remembered by the messenger, invents writing. From that moment on, writing becomes a pivotal element of our civilisation.

Mikayel Ohanjanyan explores this concept, observes space, reflects on it, consciously evolving his research on bonds in a spatial dimension, creating an unprecedented, complex and symbolic work, influenced by the environment itself. His site-specific installation consists of shapeless basalt blocks of various sizes, wrapped in steel cables that hold them tightly to the ground. The deep furrows created by the cables generate a visual and conceptual tension, as if these stones, a metaphor for the human being, were prevented from flying.
The cables top, tied to the splinters of the same blocks cast in lead, recall the lead letters used in typography, connecting material and concept. The surfaces engraved by the artist include writings that repeat the phrase in the work’s title: “And… If there was no writing?”

This question invites us to reflect on writing as a metaphor for life and human relationships; with all its unquestionable importance, it symbolically becomes a boundary place, a threshold to be “crossed”, where it is vital to understand and absorb the essence and content of writing itself, having the courage to freely take the next step, avoiding becoming trapped in writing. This does not mean denying the pre-existing, but rather living the present with the intensity and awareness of who we are.
In Vedic literature, it is said that writing was invented because human beings were no longer able to remember and therefore needed it. The artist observes that “today, we struggle even to understand it, to decipher its essence”.
Ohanjanyan’s project invites us to reflect on this contemporary aspect of writing, on its duality as a symbol, where the boundary between the nodal substance and the ability to receive and assimilate it is almost imperceptible, but at the same time crucial. Thus, writing, like bonds, with all its richness, becomes indispensable for a new impetus and a new path, a crucial point at which the spark towards the unknown is ignited, requiring us to go beyond the perimeter of our personality and, in truth, to discover ourselves.

“Those who manage to overcome their ties with themselves are connected with the Universe” – Rumi.