Zaven Khachikyan is one of the foremost photographers working in Armenia today. A native of the southern border town of Meghri, he has spent the last two decades documenting the various facets of his homeland, its people and the accompanying human drama of its citizens through the unique perspective of his lens.

"If I could qualify as my credo what I have done throughout the years," says Khachikyan, "then I would have to describe it as the singular act of observing the human, as in 'the human being' and 'the human nature': to take note of his existence and his spirit, to wish him courage--if with a simple gaze cast in his direction--and to record, at the right moment, the elevation of the human spirit by means of photography."

As the principal photographer of the ZH Photo Group, the photo-design agency based in the Armenian capital of Yerevan, Khachikian involves himself in a wide range of assignments from advertising and promotional campaigns to landscape and architectural photography. His images have appeared in Time, Los Angeles Times, Paris Match, Liberation and they have graced numerous book, calendar and CD-cover projects. He has been a long-time collaborator of AP and Reuters in Armenia and has exhibited his work widely since 1985 including major exhibition halls in Armenia, Russia, France, Germany, and the United States.

Khachikyan's first solo book project is scheduled to be published in the Spring of 2003.