Artist: Helene Black

Location: Pafos International Airport

Material: Steel, metallic auto paint, granite, fluorescent lights 

Category: Modern sculpture

Photography: Evangelia Matthopoulou

The work was commissioned in 2008 by the Hermes Airports and is installed at the entrance to Pafos airport. 

The metallic, two dimension cruciform female figures are originated from the picrolite figurines dated in the Chalcolithic period of the island (approximately 3.500-2.400 B.C). Following the shapes of their original prototype, Helene Black’s figurines are geometric, built on clear vertical and horizontal lines, indicating their particular features with cuts in their metallic surface. The picrolite Chalcolithic figurines symbolized fertility and a considerable number of them were found in the area of Palaipafos, nearby the airport, where one of the most celebrated Afrodite’s sanctuaries was located. Hence, it is believed that over time they developed into the cult of Aphrodite, goddess of fertility, too. 

Selected sources:
~ Toumazis, Yiannis. 2009. Sense of Place. Nicosia.

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