Dec. 01 - 04, 2020

By Heidi Trautmann

“Art begins in the head and not at the tip of the tool one is using.” It is the ability to observe, it is the ability to use our senses, to gather experiences and high sensitivity mixed with our own individual interpretation and based on the mastery of the tool one is using.

KIFSAD (Kibris Fotograf Sanati Dernegi/Association of Cyprus Photography Art) was established in 2011, a young and ambitious association with many members from all corners of the island. At KIFSAD they regard photography as fine art and strive to fulfill this vision and I can only confirm this after having visited their last exhibition at the Atatürk Cultural Centre in Nicosia; it is not the first exhibition, that I have witnessed the high standard of their philosophy, the goals they try to reach by continuous workshops, participation in international competitions and submitting to a continuous process of learning. See the text ‘About us’, the introduction to their association to learn more. Also the description of their last project ‘KIFSAD World of Art Project’ which gives us an idea how passionate they went about this ambitious project.  Here is the link to their facebook site where the reader may learn more about the association:

https://www.facebook.com/1251155054937140/videos/443246737078455

List of Projects and names of participants in each group

1-Nostalgy:  Gökhan, Yılmaz Merve, Coşkuner Haktan, Okumuşoğlu Haluk, Erim Hülya Poyraz, Çelik Kamuran, Dede Songül Bekem.

2-Fairytale: Hakan Genç, Metin Duran, Sunay Özbostancıoğlu, Cüneyt Bayram, Ahmet Haraç.

3-People and Nature: Derviş Beyit, Ahmet Bullici, Çağın Çağaşan.

4-Double Exposure Emel Sefer, Nilgün Ortaş, Nilgün Çolakoğlu.

5-People with down syndrome at their working place:  Hasan Okanar, Hasan Darçın, Cem Cengiz, Nurettin Şehitoğlu.

6-Conceptual portraits:  Yıltan Taşçı, Candan Behzatoğlu, Mehmet Altuner, Cahit Arkut.

7-Darkness and Horror:  Mehmet Gül, Emine Kasap, Aliye Bozdağ, Emre Gürsev, Özhan Özatay, Emete Bürüncük, Filiz Hacıoğulları.

An exciting exhibition with a new approach, the individual groups working together, discussing their ideas and setting it up; the photos about the preparatory work the groups do for their projects is very interesting and helpful for the viewer to understand, and finally at the end, I learnt,  all the groups got together and set up their ideas of exhibition.

It is not about to take a photo of what you see; it is to tell a story, and the stories are well told. In Nostalgy,  they have created a look back into the middle of last century; in Fairytale, it is a dark modern interpretation of ‘Little Red Riding Hood and the Bad Wolf’; In People and Nature, we see a very intimate approach to nature , i.e. the birth of a turtle; In Double Exposure some very delicate presentations of the twin personality ‘Nature and I’; In People with Down Syndrome  we learn about their daily working life and their joy in it. In Conceptual Portraits, it is about bringing the soul of a human face to the surface;  and finally, the project Darkness and Horror  is dark theatre, researching and creating images of Fear.

An entire book of stories told at this exhibition.  Congratulations, I say, and my respect. It makes you want to join.  Unfortunately, the exhibition was very short but I hope it will be repeated one day in better times and other places.