Mariam Tovmasian | Sunwalks — A Sanpo Cyanotype Archive

Mariam Tovmasian is a London-based visual artist and illustrator originally from Armenia. She is passionate about visual storytelling through the interplay of image and text, exploring the potential of her practice to push beyond the limits of both the mediums she employs and her own creativity. Tovmasian’s works, born from the contrast between grand ideas and the everyday experiences of a young woman, often take on subtly satirical, sometimes poetic narratives. The themes of her work can be seen as responses to personal or existential questions arising from lived experience. Sunwalks – Sanpo invites Tokyo residents to participate in a collaborative art project, capturing the physical traces of the city and encounters with others through cyanotype printing, a photographic process invented in the 19th century that develops in sunlight. Using sunlight and time as primary materials, the project explores stillness, impermanence, and connection within the rapidly changing—and often fragmented—urban environment. Participants take home one of the prints they created as a memento of the shared “stillness,” while a second print from the same set becomes part of Tovmasian’s site-specific installation at the exhibition and is archived in a booklet, with the installation itself continuing to evolve over time.   A related event, “Sunwalks: A Sanpo Cyanotype Archive,” will also be held.   Special Cooperation: Etoile Kaito & Co., Inc. * Mariam Tovmasian is one of the participating artists in the international open-call project SOCIAL DIVE.