Erevan - Sevan Possibly 2002 - 2010

Curator: This black and white photograph by Ursula Schulz-Dornburg is titled "Erevan-Sevan," and while it's dated sometime between 2002 and 2010, its timeless quality makes it difficult to pin down. What springs to mind for you? Editor: Stark, somehow desolate. It's a strange kind of monumentality – a brutalist mushroom in a misty no-place. It speaks to that human desire to mark a spot, to say "I was here," even if the "here" is completely anonymous. Curator: That's insightful. These are, in fact, bus stops. Schulz-Dornburg is fascinated by architecture, particularly structures at the periphery of society – bus stops, ruins, abandoned buildings – liminal spaces. These constructions are near Erevan and Lake Sevan in Armenia. Editor: Ah, Armenia. Knowing that adds another layer. There's a history of empires clashing, borders shifting. That might explain this…stubborn, almost forlorn concrete form in the landscape. There’s definitely a psychological weight to the symbolism of transit—waiting, leaving, arriving…it is such a vulnerable state, made solid here. Curator: Absolutely. And look at the geometric precision of the structure against the diffused backdrop. She frames the concrete with so much negative space that the station almost becomes a sculpture—simultaneously blending with and rebelling against the landscape. Editor: Yes! The stark geometry is so interesting – the circle and the curves holding up the platform feel almost ceremonial, set against this washed-out light and this emptiness…it looks as if someone has set out a place, and yet no one is coming. Curator: I think Schulz-Dornburg masterfully captures the tension between hope and abandonment in these spaces. She presents us with a meditation on place, time, and memory etched in concrete and light. Editor: Right. It makes you consider what the future of this architecture might be—if anything *will* come of it—or if it will just stand here silently in memorial, reminding us to remember… what? Maybe just the passage of time.