A photographic exhibition examining a tradition among teenage boys preparing to enter the army seen in Famagusta villages in the Kokkinochoria area will be staged at Serena Beach in Protaras next week.

Titled Moikanes (Mohicans), the one-day exhibition by Cypriot visual artist Nikolas Louka will take place on July 3, where photographs will focus on the elaborate mohawk hairstyles styled by young men from the Kokkinochoria villages before beginning compulsory service in the National Guard.

The exhibition explores the hairstyle as both a visual symbol and a social ritual.

Participants spend months growing their hair before gathering with friends to shape and dye it using improvised materials including glue, reeds, and string.

The preparation can take between six and eight hours and is conducted collectively by the boys in shacks and temporary spaces used for the occasion.

According to the exhibition, the tradition is believed to date back to the 1980s and has been passed between generations of would-be soldiers.

Louka presents the practice as a “moment of transition”, capturing what organisers describe as the period between “rebellious adolescence and military service”.

The project documents the hairstyle as “an ephemeral sculpture on the body”, created to draw attention and be photographed before being shaved off as military service begins.

The exhibition will remain open from midday until midnight and will conclude with a party at the venue.

Louka studied photography in Athens before moving to London in 2011, where he founded E2 Studios and worked with international publications and brands including British Vogue, Prada and Sony.

Since returning to Cyprus in 2024, he has continued developing projects both locally and abroad.