Public sculpture by Cedric Koukjian in Geneva, Switzerland

For immediate release

Cedric Koukjian, Geneva based multi-ethnic artist announced today that his submission to a recent competition by the Cultural Commission of the City of Cologny in the Geneva Canton of Switzerland had won a competition to be accepted for public exhibition.

The sculpture, called Liaison, was chosen from a shortlist of over thirty international artists and will be featured as a public art exhibition on the Cologny-Vandoeuvres roundabout from the 14th January 2020.

“Liaison is a contemporary sculptural study that invites people to think about the concept of bonds and relationships. Each of these chains was carved from one rock, separated only at the end of the sculpting process,” said Koukjian.

“As humans, we start our relationships in the unknown – whether friendship, family, or love – and work on that relationship, slowly carving our bonds until they are as interlinked as the chain. The chain itself also symbolizes the power of a bond of unity, strength, and freedom. Though separate as individuals, united we are all stronger and happier.”

Standing at three meters, the Liaison sculpture is made of hand-hammered, mirror polished stainless steel sculpted into three interconnected chains. The design of the sculpture is constructed in a style reminiscent of ancient Chinese jade sculptors, who created chains from one slab of the precious stone. The idea for the sculpture has its roots in an ancient fable from the Greek philosopher Aesop with the lesson that “unity makes strength, strife wastes.” The fable, A Bundle of Sticks, in which an old man instructed his sons to break a bundle of sticks. When unable to do so due to the strength of the bundle sticks, he untied the bundle, separating the sticks into single pieces.

When the man gave each son a stick and asked them to break it, the sons snapped the sticks in half with ease. The wise old man then told his sons, “Individually, you can easily be conquered. But together, you are invincible.”

Koukjian’s contemporary sculpture updates this classic fable for the 21st century, showing how with the strength of steel and the flexibility of the chain allows it to achieve greater force even under high pressure. Once a chain is broken, however, it is weakened and cannot perform its function – just as the breaking of bonds between humans can lead to relationship breakups and even the fall of entire empires.

“The Cultural Commission of the City of Cologny had the pleasure to inform Koukjian that his sculpture was selected above all applicants,” said the Cultural Commission. “The sculpture will be on exhibition at the Cologny-Vandoeuvres roundabout from the 14^th of January 2020.”

To find out more about the Liaison sculpture and Koukjian’s other work, please visit SINCE Studio or follow the artist’s Instagram.

For all general and media inquiries about Liaison or to enquire about a commission, please contact Cedric Koukjian by telephone at +41 (0) 79 790 53 03 or email info@sincefineart.com.

About SINCE Studio

SINCE Studio is a father-son fine arts studio comprised of Pierre and Cedric Koukjian, based in Geneva, Switzerland. Both artists are known for constantly pushing the boundaries to explore new shapes and mediums. The studio’s focus is on postmodern industrial sculpture, alongside creating bespoke furniture and lighting for the modern environment. For more information, please visit the artist’s website.

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