Diana Markosian

Inventing My Father

January 7–February 1, 2015

At seven years old, photojournalist Diana Markosian moved from Moscow to California with her mother and brother. Her father was left behind. Markosian’s early memories of her father were limited, but as she adjusted to her new life in the United States, she never lost hope that she would see him again. In 2013, after a separation of more than 15 years, Markosian traveled to Armenia to reconnect with her estranged parent. She began photographing as they became re-acquainted. Later, she allowed him to turn the camera on her as well. The end result is Markosian’s moving series, Inventing My Father, which combines black-and-white and color prints by the artist and her father and tells an affecting story of reconciliation and forgiveness in spite of innumerable obstacles.

“I knocked on the door of a stranger. I've traveled halfway around the world to meet him. My father. I have few childhood memories of him. In one, we are dancing together in our tiny apartment in Moscow. In another, he is leaving. My father would disappear for months at a time. Then, unexpectedly, he would show up.  At seven years old, I was taken away from him, far away. One morning, my mom woke me and my brother up to say we were going on a trip. We never said goodbye to my father. And the next day, we arrived in our new home in California. For my mom, the solution to forget him was simple. She cut his image out of every photograph in our family album. But those holes made it harder for me to forget him. I often wondered what it would have been like to have a father. I still do.”

Diana Markosian is a documentary photographer whose work has taken her to a wide variety of locations around the world. She holds a BA in Art History and International Studies from the University of Oregon and graduated in 2010 from Columbia University with an MA in Journalism. Markosian’s editorial work is represented by Reportage by Getty Images and can be found in publications including TheNew York Times, The New Yorker and Time.