The PSI Foundation is making its debut in Nicosia, presenting a satellite exhibition in the capital that takes video art beyond the confines of a conventional exhibition space and integrates it into the city’s daily life.
From October 2 to November 2, 2026, “Objects in the Mirror May Be Closer Than They Appear” will unfold at various locations throughout Old Nicosia, beginning at The Gym Bar on Onasagorou Street, creating a route of moving images and projections that visitors are invited to discover as they move through the city.
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
Photo Credits: Janis Rafa, Lacerate, 2020. Film still, single-channel video with sound, 16 min. Courtesy of the artist; Callirrhoë, Athens; Fondazione In Between Art Film. © Janis Rafa
Curated by Evagoria Dapola, the project brings together 14 works by 9 different artists and unfolds across a network of spaces along three streets in the old city. Artists’ studios, architecture firms, former workshops, as well as storefronts, windows, walls, and cafés all temporarily take on a new role, hosting moving images and creating unexpected encounters between art, the city, and the people moving through it.
The exhibition’s title refers to the familiar warning on car mirrors— “objects in mirror may be closer than they appear”—and serves as a starting point for a play on distance, image, and perception. Just as a mirror or a screen alters the way we see what lies before us, so too do these works intervene in the familiar urban landscape, inviting passersby to look at it anew. Analog and digital works—sometimes more personal, sometimes on a larger scale—become part of the urban fabric, inviting passersby to pause for a moment, observe, and discover images where they might not expect to find them. Through this process, the city itself becomes part of the experience, as art intersects with the daily rhythm of old Nicosia.
“Objects in the Mirror May Be Closer Than They Appear” unfolds in dialogue with the exhibition “Bill Viola: Unspoken”—which is on view at the PSI Foundation in Limassol through October 24. The two exhibitions converge on the concept of attention and the viewer’s relationship with the moving image, though the viewing conditions are entirely different.
Many of the selected works are based on unscripted footage and draw on elements from documentaries and home videos, capturing moments and images of real life in a more direct and spontaneous way. Participating in the project are video artists Maria Anastasiou, Nadim Choufi, Danae Ios, Stelios Kallinikou, Kakia Katselli, Aristotelis Nikolas Mohloules, Alexandros Pissourios, Janis Rafa, and Konstantinos Taliotis.
A Few Words About the PSI Foundation
“Objects in the mirror may be closer than they appear” marks a new chapter for the PSI Foundation, which was founded in Limassol in 2024 as a nonprofit organization. From its first exhibition, “Casts of an Island,” and the research project “Tekton,” to the presentation of Bill Viola’s works in 2026, the PSI has been developing a contemporary art program with an emphasis on dialogue, collaboration, and the promotion of Cypriot artistic creation.
Information: Objects in the mirror may be closer than they appear
- Commissioned by: PSI Foundation
- Curated by: Evagoria Dapola
- With the support of Exness
- Opening: Friday, October 2, 2026, 7:30 p.m., The Gym Bar, 89 Onasagorou Street, Nicosia
- Duration: October 2 – November 2, 2026 Days & hours: Wednesday – Sunday, 5:30 p.m.–10:30 p.m.
- Location: Various venues in Old Nicosia, starting at The Gym Bar
