UK artist to present Cesnola exhibition in Nicosia

London artist Clare Burnett is showcasing her work in a solo exhibition at Art Seen this April and May. Titled Shapeshifters-Clouds of Conscience, the exhibition will open in Nicosia on April 22 curated by Maria Stathi and until May 24 it will present brightly coloured groups of paintings and sculptures arranged in ‘conversation’ groups within the two-story space.

The showcase is inspired by the artefacts removed from Cyprus by Cesnola in the 19th century and is made with objects and materials found today on the streets of Nicosia. “In the 19th century,” explain organisers, “the American Consul to Cyprus, Luigi Palma di Cesnola, ‘acquired’ a vast treasure trove of Cypriot archaeological artefacts, a total of 35,000 objects, most of which he sold to the newly formed Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in 1872 before becoming its first Director until his death in 1904.

“This collection and its story,” they add, “are the source material for the exhibition. The show draws attention to the actions of Cesnola and to the attitude of ‘the West’ to the heritage of others whilst celebrating the artefacts themselves – their energy and emotion, their rich surfaces, the anthropomorphic forms of simple household objects and the patterns and forms that repeat through history. Through the use of discarded and mass-produced materials, it also nudges us to think about 21st-century dilemmas relating to the goods we acquire and use and how this might be judged in the future.”

The exhibition opens with a set of sun prints detailing Cesnola’s excavations and his display of objects at the Metropolitan Museum where he mismatched heads, legs and bodies in an attempt to repair the damage caused to them in transit. Mergers and Acquisitions is a series of oil paintings on paper featuring imaginary versions of objects from the Cesnola Collection set alongside features from the Cypriot landscape where they belong.

Keeping watch over the exhibition are the Soothsayers, modern-day mosaic versions of Bronze Age Plank Figures with glow-in-the-dark breasts, stomachs and eyes. What I am I will Not See is the central collection of the exhibition – larger sculptures gathered together in groups with forms inspired by the Cesnola Collection and colour from the Cypriot sunshine. They sit alongside a group of small sculptures, Shapeshifters and next to HËNGE, a 21st-century stone circle all made from found and familiar objects combined with coloured concrete, jesmonite and oil paint.

The work for the exhibition was researched and made in both London and Nicosia. While the exhibition runs, a Meet the Artist event and an exhibition tour will take place on April 22 at 12pm. On April 26, the event will be repeated in the afternoon, at 6.30pm, allowing visitors to have a closer at the exhibited pieces and the concept behind them.

Shapeshifters-Clouds of Conscience

Solo exhibition by Clare Burnett. April 22-May 24. Art Seen, Nicosia. Opening day:11am-4pm. Monday, Wednesday, Friday: 4pm-7pm or by appointment. April 29: 11.30am-1.30pm. Tel: 22-006624