Vision of Nicosia

The new artistic season in Gloria gallery begins with a very interesting exhibition of the works of two artists from Scotland Angus Reid and Dinda Fass. From April to July 2015 the two artists lived and worked in the streets of Nicosia, in the midst of both communities, with one intention: to make a portrait of this capital city with fresh eyes. The work reflects a new atmosphere of tolerance, and the exhibition offers a new vision of the city: from division to wholeness.

The exhibition will be opened by the Deputy Mayor of Nicosia Mrs Eleni Loucaidou on Tuesday 15th of September at 7 p.m.

Angus Reid first worked in Nicosia in 1986, making paintings in places along the Green Line where photography was prohibited. In 2015 he has extended this series by working on both sides, and the images reflect the welcome he received in both communities. Still searching for ways to challenge the prohibitions that deny a complete view of the city, his work culminated in an extraordinary opportunity: to paint directly from the roof of Selimiye Camii (Agia Sophia).

Very few images have been made from that roof in the past 150 years, and none since 1960. The paintings celebrate the ancient positive energy of this extraordinary and peculiarly Cypriot building: an immense panorama that he celebrates with four large-scale works. They look to the four quarters of the compass, peering into the streets and across the Green Line: a unique view from which to grasp the whole of the city and the whole of the island, past, present and future.

Dinda Fass walked and cycled through the city’s streets and communities with her camera, making a series of images which aim to show the city as she sees it: the streets and the people in them going about their lives. These black and white images express a desire to give back to the city and its people a composite living image of itself.

She also walked the streets of the Green Line in central Nicosia, eyes closed, taking pictures prompted by non-visual cues. The camera acts as a surrogate eye, capturing what so many people in Cyprus cannot see. These images are a sensory document, a visual index to the unseen streets.

The resulting work is eyes open / eyes closed, a single channel video combining the two bodies of work. In this way, contrasting experiences of the city are juxtaposed.

The exhibition opens on the 15th of September and will remain open until the 26th of September.

Opening Hours
Monday – Friday: 10.30 - 12.45 & 17.30 - 20.00
Saturday: 10.30 - 12.45