Let’s talk history and art in Cyprus

The Bank of Cyprus Cultural Foundation’s online lecture series Let’s Talk History has added a new episode/lecture by Dr Monika Assimenou. The latest episode of the podcast, which can be found on most digital audio platforms (Buzzsprout, Spotify, Google Podcasts and www.boccf.org), is titled Art in Cyprus from 1974 to 2014: from divided space to symbolic place.

The lecture is part of a research study conducted in Paris during February 2015. The study looks at the concept of space, memory and history as deployed in artworks. The main research question which arose through the observation of artworks produced within this time was: What is the relation and interaction between the artistic creation of this particular period and the divided space, from a visual, conceptual, aesthetic and sociological point of view?

Presenting the subject is Dr Monika Assimenou, a postdoctoral researcher at the Bank of Cyprus Cultural Foundation, a professor of History of Art at the Cyprus University of Technology and a freelance art theorist.

“The artworks,” comments the podcast team, “delve into the particularity of space which, here, is often the starting point for creation: the memories of the lost space that lies on the other side of the line, the experience of space in the present and the literal and metaphorical appropriation of the dead zone. The artworks become evidence of nostalgia as they sometimes seem like redefined mappings and other times create potential performative fields. Each artwork crosses, so to speak, the border – both artistically, aesthetically and poetically. In this way, the divided space may become habitable”.

To listen to the lecture, visit the link: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1123577