exploring Cypriot coffee and newspapers

The desire to generate thoughtful and meaningful work in response to my experience in Cyprus has left me feeling tongue tied.

I have been really struggling to locate myself here, in a cultural context far from what I know, and in respond to historical, political and social issues I have barely begun to be introduced to.

History is a heavy weight – I have felt aware of that throughout our time here.

(experiements with the coffee spills)

As for Cypriot printed media, it is a stark contrast to The New York Times, which has been my source material throughout the series since the New News is Old News project began. From the quality of the photography, to the textual content, the pickings here feel slim: which is ultimately part of the process, in and of itself.

As Costantia Manoli put it in a conversation today, “there’s nothing new in our news. It’s all history.”

We have been thinking about the way that rhetoric is perpetuated though repetition. And the very predictable tone, structure and deliverance of the news in tradition media can support these repetitious cycles.

Cypriot coffee, with a candied syrupy walnut treat

And then there’s coffee. It’s a whole thing here, surrounded by tradition and ritual. There’s an old practice of fortune telling by turning the cup and reading the grounds. And there are arguments about weather it is Greek coffee or Turkish coffee, or just Cypriot.

coffee grounds, one cup tipped for fortune telling

With more time, back in my studio in New York, I hope to continue to develop to digest and and form responses to the experiences we have had, and everything we have tried to take in.