What Remains Along the Way
Arianna Dağlıyan
This road does not belong only to me.
It carries the traces of lives walked before me,
carried in silence.
The lives Armenian women lived in the past,
shaped by tradition, custom, and silence,
still endure today in the body, posture, and gaze.
These photographs are dedicated to those who lived before me,
to the road they walked, and to what remains to me.
Grapes do not grow alone in the vineyard.
They cling together and ripen together.
Green on the branch, they are hope; purple, they are time;
when turned into wine, they become memory.
In these lands, the grape is not only abundance,
but a symbol of sharing, faith, and continuity.
In Christianity, beside bread,
it tells the cycle of life and spirit.
This diary of my Yaya is like a vineyard where time was quietly recorded.
Between its pages are lived moments, waiting, days revisited.
Like grapes, some moments remained fresh,
some surrendered to time,
and some turned into a deep longing within me.
These images recall an unbroken bond between past and present.
Dedicated to my Anjel Yaya (Grandmother Angel)
My grandmother’s old house in Tokat.
This door is a threshold between past and present.
The rose bears witness to time upon this threshold.
By making it possible to look back,
it reminds us that the journey continues.
Tokat, 2023
Dedicated to the grandmothers who walked this path before me.
Arianna Dağlıyan
I was born in Istanbul on February 25, 1999. I am of Armenian descent. I completed my primary and secondary education at Armenian schools in Istanbul and graduated from the Italian high school Galileo Galilei. I then studied for one year at the University of Turin in Italy.
I completed my undergraduate studies in Communication and New Media at Istanbul Bilgi University. Growing up within different cultures and educational systems deepened my perspective on communication and digital storytelling.
In 2021, I received yoga training from Maya Fiennes and became an internationally certified yoga instructor. I currently work freelance in social media management, producing content and developing strategy for brands and individuals with a focus on new media.
Artist Workshop Process
Expressive Arts Practitioner: Aylin Vartanyan
Education Specialist, Visual Facilitator: Duygu Aşık
