In existing and newly produced drawings, textile works, and objects, the artists Mariandrie, Nurtane Karagil, and Sophie Utikal develop perspectives, sometimes subtle and sensuous, sometimes direct or even humorous, that speak of fragmentation, alienation, and vulnerability, while also addressing care, attentiveness, and solidarity. In doing so, they create spaces that allow for contradictions and differences, that empower, and at the same time open up other forms of storytelling. With regard to the political history of Cyprus and its traumatic consequences, only one symptomatic example among many worldwide, the urgency of respectful encounters and mutual listening becomes evident.
The exhibition Between Imagination and Hope explicitly brings together Mariandrie and Nurtane Karagil, artists from the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities respectively, with Berlin-based artist Sophie Utikal. Speaking from their respective backgrounds, all three positions approach pressing questions about the future that are formulated transnationally and manifest glocally.
In her drawings and texts, Nurtane Karagil engages not only with personal memories, but also with the enormous ecological challenges that Cyprus is facing, developing speculative visions for future coexistence. Humour is an integral aspect of her work, that opens up perspectives that shimmer with hope even within bitter narratives.
Mariandrie uses inherited, found, and self-made fabrics in her artistic practice. Her sculptural and installation-based textile works challenge seemingly opposing concepts, disrupting binary notions of masculine and feminine, self and other, past and present. In her hybrid works, she explores questions of identity, memory, belonging, and cultural heritage.
Sophie Utikal creates large-scale textile images that unite various layers through appliqué. They speak of motherhood and parenthood, of community, but also of loneliness, pain, transgenerational trauma, and the alienation from one’s own body in relation to white normativity. At the same time, they offer poetic responses that imagine possibilities for healing, safety, and empowerment through participation in community.
Bringing these artistic positions together opens a horizon that testifies to the power of the collective and creates opportunities for understanding and acceptance, conditions that enable emotional and psychological healing as well as visionary ideas for the future. Ideally, such encounters generate moments of hope and confidence in an increasingly challenging present.
A parallel programme featuring an artist talk, workshop, film evenings with discussions, as well as exhibition tours in Greek, Turkish, and English accompanies the exhibition. It aims to expand and deepen the thematic fields through exchange between the artists, curator, experts, and the audience, and to continue weaving the threads of the dialogues initiated.
The exhibition is part of the parallel programme of the Vima Art Fair (Limassol, May 2026).
