Chromotopia Agios Sozomenos
Idaliou, CY 2017
Cyprus and Carinthia share much in common: their size, the abundance of sunny days that attract travelers, and ethno-political conflicts that continue to perpetuate pain and suffering to this day.
Cyprus, the third-largest island in the Mediterranean, sits like a distant, legally European drop on the Asian continent—far from Greece, close to Syria, Lebanon, and Turkey. In 1974, it became one of the bloodiest battlegrounds since World War II. A civil war and proxy conflict between Greece and Turkey split the already deeply wounded island into the internationally unrecognized Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and the internationally recognized Republic of Cyprus, which has been a member of the European Union since 2004 and, under international law, encompasses the entire island.
Between these two still-hostile political entities lies the Green Line, a 217-kilometer-long demarcation or buffer zone. This militarized restricted area is monitored and administered by UNFICYP, the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus. The fighting also destroyed this mudbrick village, which now sits within today’s buffer zone.
Chromotopia Choirocoitia
Larnaka, CY 2017
The UNESCO World Heritage Site of Choirokoitia is one of the most significant prehistoric settlements in the eastern Mediterranean. Archaeological evidence shows that an organized, functioning society existed here more than 10,000 years ago. The collective community built fortifications around their village to protect themselves. The site’s name itself reflects the importance of pig farming during this period. Why the village was suddenly abandoned around 6000 BCE remains a mystery. I was fortunate to meet the French archaeologist who led the excavation from 1977 onward. She was surprised by the colors used in my light intervention, which matched pigments she had already researched—but had not yet published. Directly beside the Neolithic ruins lies the present-day village of Choirokoitia. The years of excavation, which involved the local youth, continue to shape the community’s identity and sense of togetherness to this day.
Chromotopia Hala Sultan Tekke
Larnaka, CY 2017
„The imam of the Hala Sultan Tekke Mosque told me that in the Turkish language there are several words for light: ışık means the light of fire, but also the sacred light; aydınlık means the light of the sun.“
Victoria Coeln: “Imam (Greek ιμάμα [Imáma]) is called cami hocas in Turkish. Tekke refers to a building used by the Sufi community. I was invited to attend their ritual. Every Friday afternoon, food is prepared for all, and then—from sunset until sunrise—there is drumming, singing, and prayer.
The city electrician from Larnaka, who set up the power supply for our public art space, told me that not far from today’s mosque there once was a brothel. Today, it is a ruin; I could find no trace of its past. Now it shelters hundreds of cats, neither vaccinated nor neutered, but lovingly fed. The young cats are allowed into the Tekke, just five minutes away, and even participate in the feast and Sufi ceremonies.