Art in present tense

Cyprus 2010: Art in present tense /
Chypre, l’art au present 2010
22/12/2010-8/1/2011
Espace Commines, Paris
ISBN 978-9963-8922-4-2
Organization: EKATE
Curators: Yiannis Toumazis & Andri Michael
Art installation of LIA Lapithi: Stamp Wallpaper, dimensions according to potential buyer(s).

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“Two years ago, within the framework of the French Presidency of European Union, Paris posted a series of exhibitions and events featuring Cypriot artists. The year 2010 marks for Cyprus a major anniversary, the completion of 50 years since the declaration of Cypriot independence in 1960, and on this occasion, Cyprus returns to Paris with a large exhibition of contemporary art”, Andreas Demetriou, Minister of Education and Culture, p.4
Cyprus in the present tense, Yiannis Toumazis &Andri Michael, p.19-20, “...Although the political problem remains unsolved, with the opening of Cyprus towards the international scene, with a flourishing economy and
having overcome the stagnation of the late seventies and eighties, also with
the establishment of the University of Cyprus and, more recently, the
entry of Cyprus into the European Union, conditions for growth and
development in all areas have been created in Cyprus. New media, such as
video, installation and performance, have become increasingly important
in the work of artists, who have now gone beyond aesthetic formalism
and a narrow preoccupation with themes of a morphological nature.

Cypriot artists, as elsewhere in the international arena, have developed
more critical attitude towards life and
imbue their work with intense social and political concerns. Many works
show artists daring to incorporate an intense political dimension in their works, criticising political and
social affairs (Nikos Kouroussis, Nikos Charalambidis, Lia Lapithi and others). It is very important to note that art in Cyprus, more than at any other time, is now in constant dialogue with history” p.19-20.

“...The work of Lia Lapithi also refers to the notion of identity and multiculturalism in an era of globalization, and this occurs
in a direct tone, almost like a documentary. In her short political videos, through deliberately readable symbols, Lapithi attempts key comments on the political situation of her homeland, the imposed symbols, and the conflicts. In the process the artist appropriates symbols, such as the refugee postage stamp shown in the exhibition, which has itself almost beconne a cliché . With a sarcastic comment on the stripping of these symbols, left behind like empty shells, she proposes the creation of a wallpaper, in the bespoke dimensions of the potential buyer”, p.27-27