BRUISED AND battered, the towering statue of Archbishop Makarios has finally found a home, after its eviction from outside the Archbishopric in Nicosia, amid pine trees the same height in the Troodos mountain range
The 14-tonne statue has been relocated to Throni, next to Makarios’ burial site and just three kilometres west of Kykkos Monastery, where the first President of Cyprus began his career as a novice priest at the age of 13.
“This is his third exile,” said the artist and sculptor Nikolaos Kotziamanis yesterday, speaking from Throni village.
Referring to both the man and the statue, Kotziamanis explained: “First he was exiled to Seychelles in 1956, then during the coup in 1974, and now here…”
The London-based artist designed and sculpted the giant 32 foot (9.76m) bronze statue in 1987. The awkwardly sized figure stood tall next to the Archbishopric building for more than two decades, attracting amazement and disbelief in equal measure.
Once he came to power, Archbishop Chrysostomos II made clear that “Big Mak” had to go, ordering its removal from the Archbishopric in October. A new life-sized statue of Makarios in dazzling white marble was installed in the imposing bronze figure’s place.
On hearing of the decision to remove the statue, Kotziamanis made his disappointment abundantly clear.
“I was against it being moved from there for historical reasons. I’ve said it many times,” he said.
He was even more unimpressed with the fact that no one from the Church had bothered to inform him personally.
“Nobody asked me my opinion at least. They even wrote it in The Times (of England) that the artist has not been informed. I didn’t know when it was going to be removed or where. They could have at least asked me to guide people on how to do it,” he said. According to Kotziamanis, the uninformed steps taken to remove the colossal statue made its relocation four times as hard.
“They created a lot of problems because they cut the statue in a position they shouldn’t have and now we’re fighting to put pieces together again. The most vital piece is at the bottom and has the thickest bronze to hold the rest together. Instead of cutting it into two, they cut it into eight pieces.
“Now it will take four times longer to set it up than if it had been done properly,” he added.
Despite the fact Kotziamanis arrived last Friday along with three experts from the UK to oversee the transition from city to mountain for the historic statue, the rift between sculptor and owner does not seem to have healed.
A priest from the Archbishopric press office said he had no idea whether Kotziamanis was even in the country, adding that he did not believe his presence had anything to do with the Church.
“I’ve got to give the Bishop of Kykkos credit, he’s doing a magnificent job. He saved the sculpture. We didn’t even know where it was going to go, but he maintained that no one should touch it but the artist,” said Kotziamanis.
“He insisted that I come do it right. It’s a hell of a job, but I love my art, and am determined to do it. It’s a good location. I hope this time it’s going to be forever,” he added.
The four experts have been working night and day, welding pieces together and creating a large enough concrete base to ensure the statue’s sturdiness in the wind-swept mountains.
“Now we’ve got it standing firm. You can see it fully and enjoy it for the first time from top to bottom, undisturbed by iron bars. It’s perfect,” said the artist.
The team will take a break next week for Christmas before returning in January to finish the job. There is still the issue of the red and yellow paint, thrown on the symbolic figure during a night of vandalism at the Archbishopric.
“We’ve got to clean it up to its original bronze and then do it again like new,” said Kotziamanis.
He may not have designed it for the mountains, or approved of its relocation, but the sculptor sounded at ease with his creation’s new home.
“It’s going to face you as you come up. It’s very visible. You’ll even be able to see it from the Bay of Morphou when the lights go on. It’s magnificent, and I love it,” he said.
