Since January 2026, a new exhibition on the Cypriot Presidency has been open on the third floor of the Spinelli Building (Zone G). It features a series of photograph by Andros Efstathiou and the Contemporary art collection of the European Parliament.

Nicosia International Airport exhibition brings together the photographic work of Andros Efstathiou and the digital prints of Maria Leonidou in a dialogue about memory, absence, and unresolved history.

At the centre of the exhibition stands the abandoned Nicosia International Airport – once Cyprus’ main gateway to the world, now frozen in the UN-controlled Dead Zone since 1974. Through a series of meticulously staged photographs, Efstathiou transforms this ruined site into a living space of remembrance. Figures dressed in period uniforms inhabit the terminal like suspended witnesses, evoking the last moments before the island’s division and capturing the psychological weight of waiting, loss, and silence. The airport ceases to function as mere architecture and becomes a metaphor for a conflict that remains politically and emotionally unresolved.

Leonidou’s sculptural works, composed of fragmented and partially formed bodies, expand this reflection into three dimensions. Her exploration of the “Other” and of abandoned or neglected spaces emphasizes presence rather than emptiness. Absence here is not passive; it is charged, political, and demanding recognition. Her forms echo the fractures of history while suggesting the possibility of connection and reconfiguration.

Together, the works resist nostalgia and simple documentation. Instead, they invite viewers to move between the real and the symbolic, personal memory and collective history. For those who lived through the events of 1974, the exhibition offers reflection and recognition; for younger generations, it acts as a time machine—reactivating a crucial chapter of Cyprus’ recent past and asking how it continues to shape the present.

The exhibition runs until 26 June 2026.

View the brochure here.