Arutyunova is drawn to stories and environments that are rich in detail. For her, the camera is a way of finding order in complex circumstances, using formal qualities – color and shape, texture and line – to convey their underlying mood and atmosphere. She draws meaning from seemingly insignificant moments and gestures, singling them out and elevating them in order to speak to the lived experience of her subjects. Abstraction and metaphor also feature in her work as a way of expressing the political aspects of her subject matter with sensitivity and nuance.

The relationship between individual and their surroundings is a key element in Arutyunova’s work. Her photographs often focus on the hidden choreography of labour; on the grace and skill demonstrated by subjects performing the repetitive tasks of working life. Photographing in environments that are familiar to her subjects – places that reveal aspects of their personality – allows her to look beneath the surface of their lives, marrying a sense of outward ease and stability with a darker sensibility that hints at the weight of each existence. Through her work, Arutyunova seeks an emotional connection with her subjects and with the viewer, finding intimate spaces and encounters amidst the chaos of the everyday.

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