Alaverdi copper-chemical complex 1937

Martiros Sarian painted the Alaverdi copper-chemical complex using oil. Notice how the dominating vertical stacks of smoke curl upwards, not unlike incense ascending to the heavens in a temple ritual. This act of offering, of sacrifice to industry, echoes the symbolic power of the Tower of Babel, a monument to human ambition piercing the sky. Yet, the smoke, in its ethereal form, is reminiscent of the ever-present memento mori, a reminder of life’s fleeting nature. Consider this: since the dawn of civilization, fire has symbolized both destruction and creation. Here, industry belches forth progress, but at what cost to the landscape, to the very air we breathe? Like the alchemists of old, transforming base metals into gold, modern industry reshapes the earth, seeking a kind of transcendence through material wealth. It's a cyclical tale, a story etched in the collective consciousness of humankind, ever striving, ever consuming, forever caught between aspiration and consequence.