According to ancient Greek mythology, Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty, emerged from the foam of the sea in the southwestern coast of Cyprus.  This myth highlights the unique historical and morphological identity of the island.  Nature provides the fertile ground for the birth of an idea and the identification of a place.  In essence, on the level of interpretation, it consists of a reflection on beauty as an idea. 

 Since ancient times, beauty has persisted as a theme in the history of western art and philosophical discourse, both revered and contested.  Defining beauty, from Venus of Milos, Boticelli’s “The Birth of Venus” to Pistoletto’s “Venus of the Rags”, remains in constant flux.  Thinkers from Plato and Aristotle to Immanuel Kant and Theodor Adorno and from Arthur C. Danto to Alexander Nehamas, have engaged with the idea of beauty, as its deciphering continues to evolve, fascinate, enlighten and divide. 

The exhibition proposes to revisit themes of beauty in the 21st century through the work of contemporary artists from or working in Cyprus.  The artists are not necessarily in pursuit of beauty, not as an end in itself, but rather as an after effect of other  inquiries.   The plethora of artistic expressions offer a fresh perspective on our understanding of what constitutes beauty beyond aesthetics.   This notion of beauty does not necessarily lie in a concept of completeness, but can refer to a fragment, or part of a whole, an imperfection or failure, something that contains  elements of surprise or even repulsion. 

 In Japanese aesthetics wabi-sabi refers to the art of finding beauty in impermanence, transience and imperfection, in the nature of things, their flaws and differences.  In the context of this exhibition, it extends to notions of identity, whether that refers to a group of people, a person or an object, which are derived not only from an unadulterated whole, but equally from a constituent part, or other, heterogeneous and incompatible elements. 

 Through different media, photography, installations, performance, video and sculpture the works in the exhibition provide new ways of seeing and understanding beauty. The participating artists provide a vocabulary for articulating beauty  in varying degrees and  manifestations, running the gamut  between attraction  and repulsion. 

 The exhibition includes artists who live in Berlin or have participated in artists residencies, exhibitions or other events in the city.  The selection of artists was not only based on their artistic output,  but also their contribution in the development of cultural ties between Cyprus and a major art hub  like Berlin. 

 The exhibition is organised in the context of  a major event,  the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of EU.  It aims to highlight the work of cultural producers who live, or are from Cyprus.  Furthermore, it aspires to trace common cultural denominators and perspectives between the two countries, in pursuit of a universal cultural policy. 

Concept developed by:  Savvas Christodoulides and Pavlina Paraskevaidou  

 Participating artists: Michael Anastassiades, Evelyn Anastasiou, Costas Argyrou, Hussein Chalayan, Haris Epaminonda, Maria Hassabi, Stelios Kallinikou, Theodoulos Polyviou, Marina Xenofontos