Nicosia is a city that carries its history in its streets, its walls, and, above all, in its silences. Here, historical memory is not an abstract concept, but a living part of everyday life, reemerging through images, sounds, absences, and small details that we often overlook. And it is perhaps in the evening hours, when the rhythms of the old city slow down, that all of this becomes most palpable.
Photos: Skevi Laou ©PSI Foundation
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
These days, as the shops close, the streets empty out and the lights go out one by one, certain images continue to move among the dark storefronts and building facades. Human figures, forgotten landscapes, fragments of memory, and strange narratives unexpectedly illuminate the urban space. These are the video installations from the exhibition “Objects in the Mirror May Be Closer Than They Appear,” which have transformed old Nicosia into an open-air exhibition space. An exhibition that doesn’t wait for the public to walk through a gallery’s doors, but takes to the streets itself, demanding our attention and inviting us to rediscover a city we know (or perhaps not).
The PSI Foundation’s first presentation in Nicosia, curated by Evagoria Dapola, spans nine locations in the historic center, creating an experience that feels more like an exploration than a conventional visit to an exhibition. The video artist leaves the protected environment of the museum and encounters the noise, the movement, the architecture, and the contradictions of the city. Each of the 14 works takes on a different meaning within the space that hosts it, while each stop adds another piece to a narrative about time, memory, loss, and the human presence.
There is no “correct” order in which to discover the works. There are only possible starting points, such as the MERES Cultural Center at 33 Pentadaktylou Street, where four works are on display. In Konstantinos Taliotis’s “ZEI,” the relocation of the imposing statue of Archbishop Makarios III from the courtyard of the Archbishop’s Palace to the mountains, near the Kykkos Monastery, in 2008. The presentation of the work in the very same historical region from which the statue was removed creates a unique dialogue between the image, public memory, and the power of symbols. In the same space, Janis Rafa’s “Lacerate” reveals the dark reality behind the luxury of a home, exploring gender-based violence and power dynamics. In Aristotelis Nikola Mohlouli’s “Directors’ Commentary (Stromboli),” Roberto Rossellini’s iconic film “Stromboli” takes on a different interpretation through a fresh commentary. “He Loves a Bodiless Dream” by Alexandros Pissourios, on the other hand, unfolds a dreamlike exploration of desire and memory, set against the backdrop of a summer landscape on Gavdos.
At the Mobhaus design store, located at 2 Theseus Street, three works by Konstantinos Taliotis are on display: “Interiors of Cyprus,” “Plants of Cyprus,” and “People of Cyprus.” Using footage from old VHS tapes, the artist compiles images of people, plants, and interiors, creating a unique visual archive of Cyprus. Snapshots that once served merely as the backdrop to a cinematic scene take on new meaning, reconstructing the image of an era that feels both familiar and distant.
At NOL Design Studio, located at 15–17 Pentadaktylou Street, Danae Ios’s “Recording Angel” documents a car journey through Thebes and the surrounding countryside. Through the side mirror, the gaze shifts between two landscapes: the one we leave behind and the one that stretches out ahead of us. Amid olive groves, ancient myths, and historical narratives, the work explores how memory shapes our perception of a place.
At the Nicosia Municipal Arts Center (NiMAC), in the Old Power Station, the scene is strange and striking. In Janis Rafa’s “A Sign of Prosperity to the Dreamer,” dead birds—victims of illegal hunting—are slowly lifted toward the sky by underground explosions. Their almost hypnotic movement becomes a poetic tribute to lost life and a reflection on human violence against nature.
At 83 Aeschylou Street, at Kartzin x Visual Voices, Nadim Choufi turns his camera toward a glass building in Beirut. In “I’m Not Sure It’s the Same Sun Anymore,” the sun is reflected on its facade, creating the illusion that there are two suns. Months after the devastating explosion at the city’s port, this seemingly simple optical illusion captures how a traumatic event can radically alter our perception of a familiar place.
A little further down, at Cloudyworks, at 41A Aeschylou Street, four men are playing tennis against the backdrop of Nicosia’s historic walls. The ball goes back and forth, the movements repeat, and an ordinary, everyday scene takes on a different dimension. Kakia Katselli’s “Tennis Film” reminds us that life goes on in the shadow of history.
Continuing along Aeschylus Street at numbers 33–35, three more works draw attention to the things we usually overlook. In Stelios Kallinikos’s “Bird,” a small bird, a sparrow, is confronted by its own reflection. In “Deniz: bir, iki, üç” by Maria Anastasiou, a woman named Deniz looks at the camera, rhythmically waving a fan, while a voice counts: one, two, three. In “Seven Types of Dust” by Danae Ios, dust takes center stage in a narrative about Thebes, where ancient ruins, rural landscapes, and modern infrastructure coexist, revealing the multiple layers of history.
At 6 Sappho Street, Kakia Katselli’s “Water Source (Held Flow)” makes use of family footage shot by her father, Kostas Katsellis, in 1973–74 with a Super 8 camera. A woman extends her arms beneath the water of an old pump, in a motion that repeats ceaselessly. A fleeting moment from the past takes on new duration, highlighting the fragile relationship between time and memory.
At The Gym Bar, located at 89 Onasagorou Street, a familiar Nicosia landmark takes center stage: the fountain in the Municipal Garden. In “Like a Wheel Within a Wheel,” Alexandros Pissourios films it twice on the same 16mm film, creating a double image where different moments coexist. Water, light, and reflections become a poetic exploration of time and repetition.
This distinct sense of time permeates the entire exhibition, which also engages in a dialogue with “Bill Viola. Unspoken,” presented by the PSI Foundation in Limassol. Through the slowness of the images, repetition, and attention to small details, the works invite us to slow down as well. To pause for a moment, to observe, to truly look at what is happening before us. And this takes on special significance when art is found on the street, amid the hurried pace of everyday life and thousands of visual stimuli. There, where an unexpected image can make us pause and let ourselves be carried away. And so, for a moment, we go from being passersby to spectators.
Perhaps this is the greatest charm of “Objects in the Mirror May Be Closer Than They Appear.” With no set route or predetermined viewing order, the exhibition leaves us free to wander through the narrow streets of old Nicosia, to encounter art where we least expect it, and, through this process, to rediscover the city itself, noticing what has always been right before our eyes.
Information: The exhibition “Objects in the Mirror May Be Closer Than They Appear” runs through November 2, 2026, Wednesday through Sunday, 5:30 p.m.–10:30 p.m.
A detailed map showing the nine locations is available on the PSI Foundation’s website.
