PNT-00102 > Triptych Project: Chosen Tree, A Candle for Peace, Amber Onar letter, pen, watercolour, collage, Emin Çizenel, 2003
In 2003, Cyprus was undergoing one of its most crucial political moments. United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan who proposed a plan for the solution of the Cyprus problem arrived on the island just before his plan was put to a referendum. Several Greek and Turkish Cypriot artists were invited to commemorate the occasion by creating works inspired by the prospect of the island’s reunification. An exhibition took place at the Hilton Hotel in Nicosia. Although Turkish Cypriot leader Raouf Denktash forbade the participation of Turkish Cypriot artists, Kofi Annan asked UN soldiers in Cyprus to transport the Turkish Cypriots’ works to be exhibited.
This work by Emin Çizenel, titled ‘The Chosen Tree, a Candle for Peace’, expresses the artist’s hope for a final settlement of the Cyprus dispute. Emin Çizenel used pen, watercolour and collage photocopies to record his idea of a project to be executed on the day of the signing of the reunification agreement. A helicopter would help cover one of the four cypress trees in the courtyard of Bellapais Abbey with a huge nylon. The artist would then install a bright red light under the tree and light it as a candle for peace. An orchestra would sing the new anthem of the island and that of the European Union. The Annan plan was never accepted or implemented. The project, never realized, remains on paper, in the form of a diptych, accompanied by a letter written by the artist’s friend Anber Onar. 23 February 2003.
The 'Sneak Peek' series is supported by OPAP (Cyprus).
