Orange County AYF and Hamazkayin Welcome Ara Oshagan to Present Father Land

On March 9, the Armenian Youth Federation and the Hamazkayin Cultural Association Orange County chapters jointly hosted a presentation exploring documentary photographer Ara Oshagan’s book, Father Land.

Published by powerHouse books, Father Land explores life in the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic through the lens of Oshagan’s camera and the poetry of his late father, whose prose serve as a narrative for the book’s photography.

Father Land is described by powerHouse Books as a “poetic and personal journey through the rugged, human-and-history-laden landscape of Karabakh” chronicled by a “unique collaboration between a photographer son and his famous, writer father.”

The event opened with a short introduction by Orange County AYF Chairperson, Hrache Novruzyan, who spoke of Oshagan’s roots in the community and his role among the founding generation of AYF members who started the Orange County “Ashod Yergat” Chapter. Oshagan delivered his slideshow presentation to a captivated audience of around fifty, who had come to the Orange County Armenian Center to follow Oshagan’s journey through Karabakh as it was depicted through his picturesque black and white photography.

Oshagan says, “Father Land is a project about origins and identity. A project about a place and a people
emerging out of a dark history, transforming, forging a new identity, searching for themselves and a new way of life. And also about a very personal becoming, an emergence.”

Oshagan presented a segment of images from the book Father Land and for each image summarized the origin of the photograph, and the process he took to capture the image.

“I loved the photos he captured of each moment and how he told his father’s story and his own journey throughout the book,” remarked Lara Tutunjian, a member of the audience. “Rarely do you stumble upon a set of images that enhances one’s viewpoint. The words that accompanied the images written by Vahe Oshagan truly highlighted his photos even more.”

If you are interested in purchasing Father Land or are simply looking for more information about this amazing story visit fatherlandbook.com. You can also read a review on the book at Asbarez  here or scan through excerpts from the book here.

For those who missed the presentation, a brief video about the book Father Land can be seen below.

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