Exhibition looks at life in exile

The summer period is not usually a busy time for exhibitions, new ones at least, yet the island’s art scene is very much alive and just before July ends, a new showcase appears. The IN EX(ILE) Lab Artist Showcase presents the work of artists Eisa Baddour and Nina Itova, which have been developed within the framework of IN EX(ile) Lab. Two pieces of work will be displayed at the Goethe-Institut Cyprus in Nicosia from July 24 to 27.

Eisa Baddour will present his piece titled Agapi (Love) which is an interactive performance installation, in the Mediterranean Sea at the Cypriot shores. Eisa Baddour designed pieces of wood that form the word ‘agapi’ and can be rearranged to form the word Aşk (Love in Turkish). In this way, he invites people to reflect on the feelings that unite us despite the linguistic and cultural barriers. The letters were manufactured by local and migrant artisans from around Cyprus.

Nina Itova’s work is titled The Corner and commenting on her piece she says: “It all started as a simple metaphor that one cannot go beyond their projections in communication. Later this performance began to unfold to me as a labyrinth leading from trauma to healing. With the help of my psychotherapist, I crystallise Schwartz’s psychotherapeutic IFS approach, working with trauma. In this installation I explore the space of exile – the corner where children are placed when they are punished. And I get out of it with the help of a mirror on my chest. I call it initiation, in which I play the role of a guide and an ultimate Other. Despite the fact that I reinvent a specific ritual of expelling children into a corner, widely used in the territory of the former USSR, the emotions of isolation (also through sounds) can be understood by almost anyone”.

IN EX(ILE) Lab Artist Showcase

Artworks by Eisa Baddour and Nina Itova. July 24-27. Goethe-Institut Cyprus, Nicosia. Opening night: 6pm-8pm. July 25-26: 4pm-8pm. July 27: 10am-6pm