Magic City
On Beatrice Schuett Moumdjian’s bookshelf lies ‘The Magic City’ from 1913 by Edith Nesbit. The well-known English children’s book author came up with the idea of building magic cities as a playful way for young and old to investigate the architecture in their own environment. Inspired by this, Schuett Moumdjian decided to build a ‘Magic City’ to relate her personal biography to world history.
Using everyday objects and foods that she found in her home, she created a cityscape, with buildings that, among other things, are reminiscent of churches in typical Armenian architecture. Most of them are in ruins or destroyed after the rule of the Ottoman Empire as well as by contempory acts of violence, but Schuett Moumdjian is very familiar with them through the books in her library.
While building her magic city, she felt a connection with her family members who had been killed and with those who had fled the Ottoman Empire to settle in Bulgaria. She furthermore incorporated symbols of East Germany’s homogeneous society, where she was given migrant status as a child and became the target of racism. In doing so, she claims her place among the cultures she grew up with and shakes off the limiting identities that were externally imposed upon her.
