Art Exhibition at the ‘Goethe Institut’
By
Heidi Trautmann
Where
should an exhibition about Berlin be? At the Goethe, what else! It was arranged
some time ago between Mr. Luley, the director of the Goethe Institut and
Nicholas Panayi to have the event in the nice and spacious exhibition hall
where so many bi-communal events have taken place in the past. And Mr. Luley
has arranged to combine the exhibition with a series of films around Berlin
(you’ll find the programme on my website or on the website of the Goethe
Institut.) He warmly welcomed the guests for the Berlin exhibition.
“The
word ART is contained within our EARTH
as our world is a piece of art and we must always be aware of it.” These are
the words Nicholas Panayi offered us at the opening like a key, a key he and
his students are using to open the many doors to the world, its people, the
arts they find there and not to forget nature. Thus they have been to Prague,
Portugal, France, Cuba, England, Italy and so forth and the last trip was to
Berlin. It is an educational trip because you can only judge a country when you
have talked to its people, learn the history, tasted the air, and seen its
museums and art halls.
Anastasia
Pitta. Andrea Andreou, Costas Protopapas, Dina Karapataki, Elli Pati, Haroulla
Savvas, Irene Nicolaso, Kostas Tsoumenis, Kyriakos Pierides, Kyros Rossides,
Lena, Maria Koukoulli, Narchos Klerides, Yanna Charalambous…and Nicholas
Panayi. These are the names of the participants whose words of reflection were
attached next to their pictures:
Good
words and what can I do better than let them speak for themselves:
YIANNA
CHARALAMBOUS
It
has been proven throughout times that Walls are built to separate people and
countries so that a few can govern the world and take advantage of all the
economic sources for their own personal interests & benefit. The WALLS
bring only Misery, poverty, tears and pain. People do not want walls, people
want peace to raise their children and enjoy what life can give. My message on
this collage is that we SHOULD ALL stand against and refuse accepting any
messages of HATE coming from any side. ENOUGH! NEVER AGAIN! ‘’
MARIA KOUKOULLI
About a young Jewish
writer living in Germany:
Love and nature are the source of her inspiration
The political development of
the 30s and 40s in Germany killed her dreams
She stopped existing.
She stopped creating.
Now, in the Holocaust museum,
a fainted image becomes the inspiration for the artist
expressing the pain
and rage resulting from the injustice.
LENA
LAMBROU
“Attention!
East or west”
The
city of Berlin has a fascinating present, a promising future, and a documented,
toxic past. Memorials to the holocaust rise out of the streets. So, too, do
strips of tarnished metal that snake through the city where the Berlin Wall
used to stand. All are symbols of respect, of regret and of remembrance.
LENA
LAMBROU
“Skyline
at Sunset”
As
the night falls, Berlin's landmarks appear to float over the river
Spree creating a sweet atmosphere. I was lucky enough to be at the right place
at the right time.
KYRIAKOS PIERIDES
“Scenery in Motion”
This five-part painting
shows the changing scenery in motion from Berlin to Muskauer Park. The intense
yellow of the flowering rapeseed fields are interchanging with patches of thick
forests, a composition of horizontal and vertical lines.
IRENE NICOLAOU
“Golden Yellow”
Optical sensitivity in
relation to speed,
a split second,
the uniqueness of the
moment.
HAROULLA SAVVAS
“Unforgettable Garden” I, II
(Frederick the Great Sans
Souci palace gardens)
Inspired by the unusual
flower borders, magnificent bulbs and beautiful garden arrangements; an
unforgettable garden.
ELLI PATI
“Harmony Palette”
(Frederick
the Great Sans Souci palace gardens)
Nature is challenging us and seducing us through the purity of its
colors, of harmony and coexistence with humans. The intense green of the Earth
(hope), the orange-yellow leaves (melancholy), the colorful flowers
(romanticism) and the mirroring of everything in the pond (receptivity). The
coexistence of so many emotions in a landscape, in a space in an art piece...
DINA KARAPATAKI
“The Merge”
Berlin – The Wall – The
Fall, February 9th 1989 –
a Ray of Hope for Cyprus.
COSTAS PAROTOPAPAS
“Sunset over the Spree
River- Berlin”
As long as the sun continues
to dissolve the darkness, spreading its light across East and West, people
will continue building communication bridges.
ANDREA ANDREOU
“Victory”
This painting has been inspired by the chariot, the Goddess of
Victory and four horses abreast on the Brandenburg Gate.
After the geographical and political reunion of the Western and
Eastern parts of Germany, the horses celebrate the victory and free themselves
from the gate and fly over the city. Originally the monumental gate was a
symbol of peace.
Concluding
his speech Nicholas Panayi said:
“I
admire the German nation how they have succeeded in finding a lasting solution to
find together again after forty years of separation. It can be done. We here in
Cyprus, we know what we have done, let past be past, we should now go forward
for a peaceful future.”
We
all appreciated his words.