When writer and researcher Anahit Ghazaryan saw Mariam Shahinyan’s work, it was love at first sight. 

It all started in Istanbul, with a little photo of a girl with long hair taken by Shahinyan. 

An Armenian genocide survivor, Shahinyan  is Turkey’s first female studio photographer. Outside some corners in Turkey, very few know about her work. 

Anahit Ghazaryan spent five years researching and finding original photos by the artist, who died in 1996 after dedicating 50 years of her life to photography. 

Anahit gathered a small collection of the photos taken by the artist and opened a temporary exhibition in Yerevan, titled “Living room of images”. The collection honors Shahinyan’s work.