Over the summer, Assistant Professor Ana Mouyis was invited as an Artist in Residence at the Animafest Cyprus International Animation Film Festival in Salamiou, Cyprus. At the residency, she produced and exhibited an experimental animated documentary exploring the political conflict known as “The Cyprus Problem,” with a focus on the unique cultural traditions of Cypriot people.

“The Cyprus Problem” refers to the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974 that left the island nation divided in two republics. In the south, the Republic of Cyprus is home to the Christian, Greek-speaking population. In the north, the de facto state of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is home to the Muslim, Turkish-speaking community. The facts about the conflict and circumstances surrounding the invasion are contested and each population is taught a different history—this creates a difficult situation for unification and understanding between the two communities.

Ana Mouyis’s project, entitled To Your Hands, explores the unifying aspects of Cypriot traditions and culture across the segregated population. Rather than focusing on the history of pain and division of the island, this project looks at the shared beauty and similarities of Cypriot culinary and artisan practices in both the North and South of the island.

Video installation at Animafest Cyprus (Click for larger image)

Setting language and religion aside, To Your Hands presents the hopeful perspective of Cypriot people as a unified community with strong cultural bonds. The project was presented as a solo exhibition during the 2021 Animafest Cyprus Film Festival with hand-painted animation frames hanging around the gallery and a video installation in the center of the room. The painted frames explore the labor and repetition that build a culture and the video installation, presented on two screens that face opposite directions, shows a collage of Cypriots working and creating. The two 45 minute videos are made up of the same content, the only difference is location and arbitrary visual obstructions. What is obscured on one side is revealed on the other—the viewer must walk around to both sides to get the full picture.

The sound for the installation was created by artist, musician, and UL Lafayette Graduate Fox Schwach and includes field recordings from across Cyprus mixed with an algorithm-based composition realized with modular synthesis. The painted animation, video, and sound elements all come together to form a new perspective of Cypriot cultural identity.

"To Your Hands" film stills by Ana Mouyis