A slice of Europe

Hydor_is_Land exhibition coming to Nicosia is part of a project looking at the environmental risks of Mediterranean island finds ELENI PHILIPPOU

As we leave the holiday season behind, the art world begins to come back to life with cultural happenings that place Cyprus on the international art map. One of these is a new exhibition at Theatro Polis/NiMAC this week presenting the work of Klitsa Antoniou as part of a larger European initiative.

Marlands Project, co-funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the EU, is a community of Contemporary Artists and Scientists motivated to address cultural and ecological issues pertinent to Mediterranean islands. Within this is the first Biennale of Contemporary Art of Mediterranean Islands.

Bringing together multiple European partners, the project aims to implement collaborations between arts and sciences and raise awareness of environmental and ecological concerns. Marlands’ focus on Mediterranean islands aims to contribute to the circulation and awareness of island issues, creating a collective and hybrid network.

For the first edition, curated and managed by Elena Posokhova, the selected artists are Edgar Sarin, Lucy Orta, Max Fouchy, Olga Sabko and Klitsa Antoniou. Cross-disciplinary collaborations between scientists, artists and craftspeople create the newly formed Mediterranean Islands Contemporary Art Biennale, consisting of exhibitions, talks, workshops, and conferences.

In this framework on Wednesday Klitsa will present her project Hydor_is_Land at Theatro Polis/Nimac in Nicosia. The project is a collaboration with Dr José Rafael García March, scientific consultant, George Lazoglou, technological design, Ruben Solar Ru, sound composition, Kyriacos Kousoulides, vdeo editing and supported by Art Seen Gallery. Hydor_is_Land is a research-based installation which insinuates the location of a coastal landscape or a seascape and reveals the vastness of the underwater space characterised by alternating transparency and material tension.

Following the eco-environmental focus thematic of the Marlands Project, the artwork addresses issues pertinent to the case of Cyprus and more specifically the invasion of alien species to its coast as a result of climate change and human activities, confirming the magnitude of the devastation of human impact.

While the exhibition runs in Cyprus from January Wednesday to next Sunday, the Mediterranean Islands Contemporary Art Biennale will simultaneously take place at parallel locations in the region – in Malta, Sicily and Spain.

Hydor_is_Land

Exhibition by Klitsa Antoniou. Part of the Mediterranean Islands Contemporary Art Biennale. January 11-15. Theatro Polis/Nimac, Nicoia. Opening night: 7.30pm. 11am-2pm and 5pm-8pm. www.marlandsproject.com