The Palm-Tree Kiosk / Exhibition based on the archive of Phivos Stavrides Foundation - Larnaca Archives

Opening: Friday, 10th of December 2021, 19:30

Duration: 13/12/21 - 28/01/22, Mon. - Fri. 9:00 - 13:30

Phivos Stavrides Foundation - Larnaca Archives, 1 Zinonos Kitieos Street, 6023, Larnaca

Artists: Giorgos Gerontides, Evros Evriviades, Hope (Konstantinos Ntagkas), Theopisti Stylianou-Lambert, Iosif Hadjikyriakos, Katerina Scoufaridou, PASHIAS, Filep Motwary, Hourig Torossian

Curation: PASHIAS, Iosif Hadjikyriakos

Based on the archive of Phivos Stavrides Foundation - Larnaca Archives, the exhibition “The Palm-Tree Kiosk” brings together historical objects, photographs, posters, emblems and postcards bearing the palm-tree as their thematic axis - the tree that has marked Larnaca as a physical entity and as a symbol of social and local identity. Set up in the form of aninstallation, the viewer can visit a touristic kiosk, like those located along and in parallel to the Finikoudes Promenade. The archival evidence is exhibited in open dialogue with new artworks - contemporary postcards, a peculiar form of communication that combines the speakers’ public message with a unique and iconic image. The two-dimensional and touristic depiction of the palm-tree is presented on reused product display stands, whilst the tree’s multiplicity unfolds in a context of historical references and aesthetic portrayals, related to the person that planted it and lives with it.

The exhibition “The Palm-Tree Kiosk” is the conclusion of research program “I’ve made you a palm-tree” initiated in 2018 by PASHIAS and Iosif Hadjikyriakos. Its first visual presentation took form as the homonymous exhibition, in collaboration with architect Katerina Scoufaridou, at Nicosia’s former Hondos Centre (December 2020 - April 2021). Through the empty commercial center’s vitrine, the exhibition negotiated the palm-tree’s multiformity as a symbol of cultural identity, according to its historical and contemporary presence in the urban landscape. In continuation, the live performance artwork “DAME” was commissioned for this year’s Buffer Fringe Festival, inviting viewers to a public parking space in the old town of Nicosia (10th October 2021). Visual artist PASHIAS was planted and rooted next to the palm-tree, taking a stance of protest towards current sociopolitical conditions, whilst the message of green smoke grenades was transferred by the wind towards the vehicles - viewers.

* The exhibition is accompanied by the publication “The Palm-Tree Post-Cards” featuring texts and postcards from the Foundation’s archive and by the participating artists.

* Sponsor: Cultural Services - Min. of Education & Culture / Co-organiser: Youth Makerspace Larnaka / Supporters: METRO Supermarkets, Kypros Economides Enterprises Ltd.