Larnaca, Cyprus. Three landmarks in central Larnaca — the Church of Ayios Lazarus, the Djami Kebir Mosque and the Larnaca Medieval Fort — reflect 1,000 years of Byzantine, Ottoman and medieval history within a five-minute walk. The route inspired artist Ioanna Georgiou’s work A Five Minute Walk, which is on display at the Cyprus High Commission in London as part of the exhibition The Island III.
Historic route in central Larnaca
Located only metres apart, the three monuments represent successive periods of Cyprus history and show how different religious and cultural communities shaped the city over centuries of coexistence. Though the distance between them is short, the route presents a broader account of Cyprus’ layered past and the way history remains visible in the urban landscape.
Origin of the artwork
Georgiou said the idea for the work began while she was standing on Finikoudes Beach facing the town centre and noticed that several of Larnaca’s most important monuments appeared within the same field of vision.
“It first occurred to me while I was standing there,” she said. “In the same frame, I could see the Church of Ayios Lazarus, the Medieval fort and the Djami Kebir mosque. They were strikingly close together.”
She said the church, mosque and fort appeared almost in dialogue with one another, turning what first seemed like coincidence into a compressed history of the island.
“In short, from the Church of Ayios Lazarus to the Kebir Mosque to Larnaca Medieval Fort is a five-minute walk,” she said. “The route takes five minutes to walk, but it took 1,000 years to be developed.”
Form and presentation
A Five Minute Walk is made on found wood and shaped in proportion to a map of the route. Acrylic paint creates intersecting paths that resemble living mazes.
“The acrylic on card shows colourful labyrinths intersecting one another,” Georgiou said. “The vibrancy of the colour represents this lively town, and the way our paths intersect or sometimes interrupt one another.”
