A guided tour of an ongoing exhibition gave ELENI PHILIPPOU a new perspective on the Akamas
Spread across two locations in the Akamas peninsula, Kyriaki Costa’s artistic odyssey Akamantis | Head & Hand, weaves together threads of memory, myths and water. The first guided tour of the exhibition led us to discover the artist’s Paphos-inspired stories with an ecological focus and hints of feminism. Sensuality, community, nature and childhood tales all come together at the Anassa Hotel and the Archaeological Museum of Marion-Arsinoe.
For Kyriaki, Paphos is a special place, where she spent much of her childhood holidaying with her grandmother and her cousins near Aphrodite’s Bath. The region’s myths intermingled with water sources blend with Kyriaki’s memories of Polis Chysochou and Akamas to create a multi-layered exhibition, running until October 27. With so much to decode, a guided tour is just what is needed.
The late August walking tour immersed us in Kyriaki’s fascination with water, a prominent feature in her work. This was not by choice. The exhibited pieces start at the entrance of the hotel, situated near Anassa’s water fountains with the sound of running water.
Kyriaki, always seemingly calm, offered insights into her research process and the meaning behind each piece. She explained how she dug through unused materials from the hotel’s warehouses and re-purposed them, in line with the sustainability focus of the exhibition. Bedding, metals and relics of the hotel’s past were given new meanings.
Some of the artworks, she explained, were inspired by a childhood fear of Akamas’ nocturnal creatures, others by interviews with locals or the region’s ancient ceremonial rituals and of course, the Akamantis indigenous plant of Cyprus from where the exhibition gets its title. A cloth with embroidered pink ribbon hangs on a hotel wall and symbolises the pink of the Akamantis wildflower.
The same pink perhaps also offers whispers of feminism in Kyriaki’s work that is seen not only in her research but also in that she tends to work with women. Leading the event were two of them: archaeologist and tour guide Antigone Michael and art historian Dr Christina Lambrou.
As we headed outdoors, a sculpture by A. Moditis waited for us in the hotel courtyard as part of the exhibition, aiming to further include the local community. The outdoor café, with striking views of the Akamas mountains, was the setting for a discussion with hotel staff that offered a glimpse into the unknown treasures of the area.
“I work in paradise and I live in paradise,” bar manager Takis Antoniou said as he shared stories of Akamas and the area’s environment, the pink calamari you can sometimes find, the old whistling community that lived in the area and how a donkey inspired a signature cocktail.
A short drive took us to the exhibition’s second location, the Archaeological Museum of Marion-Arsinoe.
With us was a specially-designed map which links the exhibited spaces with the natural world around them. This cartographic exploration traces water sources and myths along with the environment, inviting visitors to go on their own adventures to explore what the exhibition touches on.
At the museum in Polis, we huddled around ancient water pipes, unearthed by the department of antiquities and exhibited especially for this exhibition. There, Kyriaki’s creations were displayed in between archaeological findings and in a second room was a short film running on a loop by Alex Ioannou. Titled No Drop to the Sea, the film features the technical achievements related to the water infrastructure that transformed the peninsula of Akamas and the area of Paphos in the mid 20th century, voiced by Vrahimis Ioannou, Alex’s grandfather.
The tour ended at Polis municipality for a poetry reading with figs and wine from Paphos, similar to what I imagine Goddess Aphrodite was fed.
There is so much to explore in Kyriaki’s Akamantis | Head & Hand and its reminders of Paphos. Perhaps ‘experience’ is a better word for it and there will be another chance to do so in a second guided tour and more on September 30.
The curatorial team will lead a tour at 12pm at the Archaeological Museum and at 1pm at Anassa Hotel while in the afternoon Constantinos Perikleous in collaboration with Terra Cypria will take participants on a 6km hike starting from the Smiyies picnic area at 4pm. Hikers will explore the region’s nature and biodiversity while identifying herbs and passing by magnesium mines and lava rocks touching on the geological history of Cyprus. Ending at sunset on a mountain peak, organisers will also talk about the Akamas peninsula, Lara beach, the habitats they encounter and the threats they face.
Secluded mossy waterfalls, sea caves with stalactites, Aphrodite’s blue sea with a backdrop of the mountains, tiny cold river streams. Perhaps that’s what the artist wants to encourage – a personal reflection of Akamas, its idolised legends and sacred water.
“The exhibition project is an invitation to visitors to experience the Akamas region in different ways,” says Kyriaki, “to listen to its environment, myths and stories and to tour the place following the new narratives that the project produces.” Whether that is via an organised event, a map in hand or a personal memory.
Akamantis | Head & Hand
Exhibition and project by Kyriaki Costa. Curated by Evagoras Vanezis and Monika Asimenou. Held under the auspices of the Ministry of Agriculture Rural Development and the Environment. Until October 27. Anassa Hotel and the local Archaeological Museum of Marion-Arsinoe, Paphos. Museum hours: Monday – Friday: 8.30pm – 4pm, Saturday: 9am – 3pm. For workshop reservations: 26-322955, 26-321321 or email: costakyriaki@gmail.com