project: photographer - Vahan Stepanyan / PAN Photo Agency, art director - Armen Galyan

Growing a beard in Armenia doesn’t have any special motivation. It might be a tribute to fashion, as an alternative face-design and way of life. A young man with a beard (Armenian: Մորուք, [Morooq]) can either want to look as an arts critic or just have a brutal appearance. Probably, beard is a challenge for the clean-shaven and well-groomed young people on a career ladder. Some bearded men even acquire a look of Armenians in Medieval period. Anyway, taking care of a beard is a pleasant ceremony and apparently the best reason to stand in front of the mirror with scissors and speculating about the balance of the long and the short with each cut.