Six artists from three Mediterranean countries of the EU have created interactive installation works of art for Larnaca International Airport in Cyprus.
These artists are Vince Briffa and Liliana Fleri Soler (from Malta), Theodoulos Gregoriou and Klitsa Antoniou (Cyprus), and Dimitris Alithinos and Eleni Panouklia (Greece).
The art exhibition, titled From Arrival to Departure, is being organised by Laiki Bank Cultural Centre in collaboration with Hermes Airports and is open until the end of the Cypriot presidency of the Council of the EU in December 2012.
Artist Vince Briffa’s exhibit, Merry-go-Round, allows travellers to study a large number of used postcards showing various locations, cities and countries, at various time periods.
This work metaphorically links on a visual level the present user to past travellers and their destinations, in essence, their experience.
“Similar to an airport departure lounge, the Merry-go-Round is a place of transition and conversion,” Briffa said.
I will get there somehow... is the title of the art installation by Liliana Fleri Soler. Fleri Soler draws imagery from both the human form and experience.
The artist presents an interactive sculpture about journeys – getting from place to place in one’s physical body, in one’s mind or simply in one’s spirit.
In the sculptures, the subject is using ‘alternative’ means of transport, organisms which are unlikely to be an actual form of transport in reality but many of which have been an inspiration in the invention of modern transport systems.
Marina Vryonidou-Yiangou, director of the Laiki Bank Cultural Centre and curator of the exhibition, notes: “The artworks that a visitor will discover while passing through the halls of Larnaca International Airport explore the temperament and emotions of the traveller and the traveller’s relationship to the journey from arrival to departure.
“Each one of these works includes features such as sound, light or play that encourage interaction with the viewer, creating not just a sense of fun but a pause for reflection, thus enriching the experience of the travelling public in an otherwise busy utilitarian space.”