I’ve made you a palm tree: an exhibition

Palm trees, though not originally Cypriot, are now a primary characteristic of the island’s scenery. Identifying the palm-tree as a staple feature of Cyprus’ urban landscape and an integral part of the local cultural identity, an exhibition in Nicosia titled I’ve Made You a Palm Tree historically places the seed’s arrival, emphasising its connection to the person that planted and lived with it.

I’ve Made You a Palm Tree is an urban intervention at the former Hondos Centre (20 Zenas Kanther Street, opposite Paul Restaurant) in Nicosia’s commercial centre. In the building’s facade, the passerby can view all exhibits from the sidewalk throughout the day and night, in keeping with safety measures implemented against the pandemic.

Visual artist Pashias collaborates with art historian Iosif Hadjikyriakos and architect Katerina Scoufaridou to present a multidisciplinary approach to the palm-tree as a symbol of mobility and displacement for cultural ideals, within an open field of chronological and geographical origin. From the relations of the ancient kingdom of Kition to the Phoenicians, the island’s connection to Egypt and the region of Mesopotamia, the rise of the Ottoman Empire, to the modernisation of coastal fronts according to international trade models.

The seed’s travel and spread presents itself through diverse perspectives of spatial placement or social perception, exploring the sense of ‘belonging’ in relation to current socio-political conditions. Through the practice of photography, installation, graphic design and writing, the human body is ‘planted’ in parallel to the palm-tree, appearing as local and familiar, yet foreign and exotic.

Though the exhibition is in an open space, selected artworks are currently on view at ‘The Shop’ of the Nicosia Municipal Art Centre (NiMAC) coinciding with the opening of the exhibition Seeking Roots curated by Ioulita Toumazi.

I’ve Made You a Palm Tree

Urban installation – art exhibition. By PASHIAS in collaboration with Iosif Hadjikyriakos and Katerina Scoufaridou. Former Hondos Centre, all day and night