Starting his journey with painting, Sarkis expanded his interest to include sculpture and audiovisual installations. He uses a variety of techniques and material from photography, video, to painting, sculpture, stained glass, and neon lights. In his hand, a neon sign may take the shape of letters, sometimes a poem or a watchword, in other cases an angel or just its wings. He combines the intellectual tradition of Western and Eastern cultures which have been historically excluded, addressing issues of time, memory, and identity. Many of his works refer to a dramatic moment in the history of humankind such as war. Kriegsschatz is a key concept in his art, a German term referring to war spoils; as an act of irony, he de-contextualizes and gives new meanings to objects such as a cut hand or a bullet: Those objects are transformed to reflect memory opening to future and related feeling of triumph, suffering, and perhaps shame. Sarkis is awarded the 1967 Prix de la Peinture à la Biennale de Paris and the 1991 Grand Prix National de Sculpture.