Παππούς Νικολας (Grandfather Nikolas), 2024
Inspired by a found black and white photograph of my late Grandparents, Nikolas and Marista, discovered four years after the barricades opened in their occupied village of Komi Kebir, Cyprus.
The photograph unidentified at the time was published in the Greek Cypriot newspaper, H Σημερινή. Having received a call from a relative, my refugee father, Andreas, reached out to the newspaper with a surprised tremor in his voice, “It’s my parents engagement photo.” A preciousmemento rediscovered of their presence in his life.He was their only child, a soldier at the time about to complete his national service he was called to stay and fight for his country. His father Nikolas, a farmer, was reported as one of the missing persons in the 1974 tragedy.
Presented here for the first time is a portrait of my grandfather Nikolas who I never met. Taken from a cropped area of the found photograph, enlarged and exposed to the elements of nature, I attempt to comprehend his unjust story.
