Breaking the cycle: Kima Harutyunyan on art, women and invisible labor
While scrolling through Facebook, I noticed a post titled “Forced Service.” It featured a mandala-shaped composition in which half-eaten food and dirty dishes revealed women’s invisible labor: feeding, serving and cleaning as quietly imposed roles. It was unusual to see the kitchen presented as a form of art — one that raises awareness, expresses emotions, depicts lived realities and addresses social issues. Award-winning artist Kima Harutyunyan has unique methods to explore such themes. In some works, she incorporates objects that belonged to her grandfather or even medical waste, creating meaning out of nothing.
“I always try to use every element precisely,” Harutyunyan said. “Family, women’s rights and social issues are the main themes of my work.”
Harutyunyan,an economist, also graduated from the Igittyan Center. She said she was always drawn more to art than to finance. Eventually, she realized finance was not for her and returned to her artistic roots.
“If you choose the path of art, you have to understand that a very long journey awaits you,” she told the Weekly.
Harutyunyan currently focuses on participating in exhibitions across Europe. She believes remaining in one place can limit an artist and confine them to a small market. The European environment, she said, expands creative horizons, introduces artists to broader audiences and fosters exchange with diverse artistic communities.
“Washable and Unwashable Structures,” one of Harutyunyan’s best-known works, was featured in a solo exhibition in Slovenia. The piece draws on a deeply personal theme. For years, she reflected on how domestic labor — particularly in the kitchen — is endless and often undervalued. It is rarely recognized as formal labor and is instead treated as something women are expected to do. This repetitive cycle becomes a daily life for many women.
“We talk only about Yerevan, but imagine what happens in smaller communities. When you expand the topic a little, it becomes both local and broader at the same time,” Harutyunyan said.
The mandala concept reflects the cyclical nature of women’s labor. This cycle often goes recognized, even within the family, where such work is taken for granted. Continuous effort receives little acknowledgment, despite its central role in daily life.Perhaps there is some internal satisfaction that women feel but it is not always expressed. Women carry multiple responsibilities — particularly within the household — while managing time, organization and planning simultaneously. Traditionally, these roles have long been considered as women’s duties.
“I’m raising questions about these everyday cycles — the plates getting dirty again and again, the dishes that must constantly be washed. We use them, then wash them, put them back and the cycle repeats endlessly,” Harutyunyan said. “That is why the mandala became such an important reference. It represents that same cycle — organized, structured and endlessly repeating.”
Harutyunyan now teaches at a private art school in Yerevan. Helping a child develop independent thinking has become both a responsibility and a source of inspiration. While many view art as a technical discipline, she explains that critical thinking is essential. You can gather ten artists who have perfect technical skills, but if they do not know how to think, they will not create meaningful art. Authenticity, she said, is immediately visible, especially to a trained eye. It is this individual perspective that defines an artist’s style.
“Take Picasso, for example. He would not be Picasso without his unique perspective. The same applies to modernist, cubist or contemporary avant-garde artists. What distinguishes them is their individual voice,” she told the Weekly.
Art values individuality rather than conformity. If you conform to society’s expectations, you are not acting as an artist. Sometimes you have to go against the current. If everyone agrees on certain topics, an artist plays a critical role in raising awareness and creating space for dialogue.
Many reach a point replicating established models reduces them to performers rather than creators. That realization can create an internal conflict. For Harutyunyan, it prompted her decision to leave stable factory work in jewelry design, despite its financial security. She loved art too much to continue producing repetitive designs.
Harutyunyan noted that financial stability remains a challenge for artists. She said she cannot return to factory work, even for financial reasons and instead seeks alternative sources of income. Teaching art has become one of those paths. Working with children provides both emotional reward and creative exchange, especially when her students run to greet her and eagerly await the lesson. According to her, the Armenian art market is extremely small, with only about 2% to 5% of artists able to sustain themselves through sales. Those who sell the most are not necessarily the most skilled, but often those who adapt their work with market demands.
“About 90% of artists work in related fields — teaching, design, jewelry and interior design. Collectors exist in Armenia, but they are very few,” Harutyunyan said.
In this environment, Harutyunyan continues to create art that challenges everyday realities and social expectations. Through conceptual art, she transforms ordinary objects and routines into powerful visual statements, encouraging audiences to reconsider invisible labor and often unnoticed social roles.
