Artistic backdrop to the talks

THE ongoing reunification talks were given a brief respite yesterday from the usual humdrum exchange of black and white demands, with an interlude of colour and a chance to marvel at works of art that highlight the shared experiences and culture of the communities of Cyprus.

During yesterday’s meeting between the delegations, Cypriot artists Andreas Charalambous, Osman Keten, Zehra Sonya and Pola Hadjipapa presented their works to members of the press and negotiating officials.

The projects touch on a number of shared themes of both positive and negative aspects of life in Cyprus, such as old Nicosia’s architectural uniqueness, the geographical beauty of the island and the sexual exploitation of women.

A potent example of this shared inheritance of culture and the potential to present it as a means of moving together in the future was provided by Andreas Charalambous’ depiction of rock formations in the Karpasia Peninsula, entitled ‘The Hovering Step of Travacounta’. The word ‘Travacounta’ was coined by the artist using the two Greek words for ‘pull’ and ‘push’, and is explained with the logic that “the coexistence of the two rocks creates forms which lead to traces of ancient ancestors and of sculptural masses. Through these the artist flies to the past, approaches with sobriety the present and looks on with optimism to the future.”

Charalambous explained that “although the exhibition is not open to the general public, the idea was to provide a cultural and artistic platform for the negotiating process to take place in for the two teams of negotiators.”

The works will be exhibited for the coming months, with more works and artists being introduced at later stages during the summer.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.