Cyprus is participating in the 14th International Architecture Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia with ‘Anatomy of the Wallpaper’ by curators Michael Hadjistyllis and Stefanos Roimpas. The Story of Nicosia is presented as an allegory, a creative retrospective which consists of layers of wallpaper depicting the country’s complex national identity in the form of collages. The visitors of the pavilion are urged to carve the architectural cadaver and explore the hidden layers of the continually transitioning exhibition and reveal their own story.
The Wallpaper gives rise to the overlapping nature of History over an immaterial and intangible element. A form of abstraction, liberating the viewer beyond a literal examination of the elements, that compose Architecture, is perceptible. With the passage of time, new physical layers are inserted on the Wallpaper, thus, from its earliest form, being immaterialized and disembodied, it is mutated into a physical barrier. It encompasses thickness, then it is formatted into a Wall and, ultimately into a Space. Being presented in a simplified form of a story narration (where names, time and place do not exist), we aim to prioritize ideas and concepts. The Wallpaper will be partially exhibited and examined on a real scale, in its crucial form. While it is decorticating it will allow the viewers to uncover different stories of time, or different versions of the same story.
The opening of the pavilion attended by hundreds was declared on the 5th of June by OMA partner Reinier de Graaf and the Cypriot Ambassador in Rome Leonidas Makrides, and was followed by a street party outside the Palazzo Malipiero. Visitors were fascinated by the interactive aspect of the exhibition, which they carved with perseverance and took home their piece of the story. The Cyprus pavilion at the Venice Architectural Biennale will be open until the 23rd of November. We invite you to visit our pavilion and reveal your own story.
Curators: Michael Hadjistyllis Stefanos Roimpas
Team: Tolis Apostolidis Constantinos Caropoulos - Alefantis Eleni Hadjikyriakou Emilios Hadjistyllis Katerina Hadjistylli Loukas Koutsovendis Constantinos Louca Violeta Prado - Papadouri Maria Rousis Kleanthis Rousos Stella Savva Panayiotis Tembriotis Andrea Verni
Exhibitors: Andrea Katsavra Maria Papaloizou Giorgos Marcou Tony Maslić
