The Green Line: Greek Cypriot Women Artists’ Politicised Practices, Lia Lapithi and Marianna Christofides

Maria Photiou considers how the works of these two artists in installation, photography/print and performance discussed are redolent with 'memories of the invasion of Cyprus by Turkish forces in 1974, its division into Greek and Turkish parts, as well as the ongoing occupation of half the island by Turkey, have become key references for Greek Cypriot artists who experienced the war directly but also for those who came after.' Photiou analyses how these two different generations of Greek Cypriot women artists based in Nicosia have explored the ethnic divisions and 'the geo-political partition of Cyprus'. The author examines these 'women’s art practices in relation to how they challenge this conflict and make cultural interventions against what is “politically correct” in a society where new generations, under the influence of the state, the media, the family and their schooling, form an imaginary image of the “other” and bear witness to an event they never experienced.' Works discussed include Lapithi's video Grade IV (2007) and her collaboration with Marianna Kafaridou as the Washing-up Ladies on Feminist Issues Still Not at the Front Line about women on the Green line, and Marianna Christofides Blank Mappings (2010/2011).