Tracing the memory, stories and myths of the Akamas

An exhibition opening in Paphos this weekend showcases artist Kyriaki Costa’s creative work focussing on the region’s myths and tales. Based on the creative thinking of intellectual writers Hélène Cixous and Catherine Clément, whose works focus on the valuable, multifaceted contribution of women, the Cypriot artist and researcher draws inspiration to create the work Akamantis | Head & Hand.

With the Akamas Peninsula as a starting point, the exhibition touches on a variety of Cyprus-inspired topics – feminism, the environment, water and local legends. The exhibition will run from Saturday to October 27, split between Anassa Hotel and the local Archaeological Museum of Marion-Arsinoe.

“The ‘trail’ of a thousand steps on the Akamas peninsula is ephemeral,” says Costa. “A series of visits to the region, which begins during my childhood, produces an ever-evolving body of work. Themes such as feminism, ecology, the concept of care and myth intertwine to create an organic work that raises questions while it allows emerging dialogues, shifting conversations and the redefining of meanings. Akamantis| Head and Hand ultimately invites visitors to experience in the place of Akamas an inner, emotional experience in an enigmatic, allusive, silent, almost invisible way.”

The work narrows into the characteristics of Polis Chrysochous. Centauria Akamantis, where the exhibition gets part of its title, a shrubby indigenous plant of Cyprus. The region’s blue waters have been a predominant element of the artist’s research while the foam-born Aphrodite bathing in the area where Adonis falls in love with her has its own symbolism in the exhibition.

“Out of this complex of myth springs an invisible feminism,” say organisers, “which is validated through relevant references to the area as well as through its toponyms, which are mostly feminine. The design of the project is a reflection of the artist’s peregrinations in the region, a practice that determined the creation of the works for the current exhibition. Using traditional and contemporary techniques, and through an anthropological perspective, Costa turns her interest to the ‘enchanted’ waters and the objects of the ancient and modern culture of the wider region. As a need to fulfil desires, she creates works similar to contemporary offerings, from which allegories emerge directly linked to the ritual and erotic element which is characteristic of the region.”

At the Archaeological Museum in Polis, inspired by the archaeological findings and other objects, Costa proposes a series of works that act like contemporary offerings to the healing and restoration of humans’ relationship with the environment. Alex Ioannou’s short film No Drop to the Sea, which is hosted at the exhibition, acts as a complementary element, as it explores, through the voice of Vrahimis Ioannou, the technical achievements related to the water infrastructure that transformed the peninsula of Akamas and the area of Paphos in the mid-20th century.

The works at the Anassa Hotel testify a more intimate preoccupation of Costa with themes such as the flow of time and the space between the real and the imaginary. The artist enters the warehouses of the Anassa Hotel to collect materials that are no longer of any use to the hotel, such as bedding and various metals, which she reuses as raw material for her works, giving them in a new cycle of life. Alongside these works, she opens a dialogue with the community as well as the sculptor A. Moditis, exhibiting works of his own and giving them a different connotation and materiality.

Also part of the exhibition is a specially designed map that connects the exhibition spaces with the surrounding area as well as with points where water sources have been traced. Through this roaming, a new reading of the region emerges, where myths, water and ecology become the central points of reference.

While the exhibition runs, two guided tours will be held around Polis Chrysochous and Akamas. Antigoni Michael will lead the first tour on August 25 and Konstantinos Pericles the second, on September 2.

Akamantis | Head & Hand

Exhibition and project by Kyriaki Costa. Held under the auspices of the Ministry of Agriculture Rural Development and the Environment. July 29-October 27. Anassa Hotel and the local Archaeological Museum of Marion-Arsinoe, Paphos. Museum hours: Monday – Friday: 8.30pm – 4pm, Saturday: 9am – 3pm. www.kyriakicosta.com