Ammochostos – The Algos of Nostos" (2024)
by Stefanos Kouratzis
Photobook-monograph titled "Ammochostos – The Algos of Nostos", by Stefanos Kouratzis, is the result of a four-year dedicated effort to artistically render the accessible part of the enclosed city of Famagusta, Varosha, in Cyprus, following its illegal opening by Turkish occupying forces in October 2020.
For the enclosed city, 50 years after the Turkish invasion and occupation, time seems to have stopped in 1974, in a surreal cinematic setting.
The bilingual (Greek and English) 180-page hardcover photobook guides the reader through a journey of 104 black and white images across three chapters. Each photograph, while also functioning as a standalone piece, initiates a dialogue with the viewer-reader and connects to the next, weaving a continuous narrative of Varosha, the enclosed part of Famagusta.
At first glance, the city seems to carry nothing of its past, but its own history, topography, and details are present, indelible. The photographs, stripped of colour, focus on the form, volumes, and textures of the elements that compose and shape the space.
Stefanos Kouratzis' visits to the city were meticulously planned to conceptually convey the present-day enclosed city in dialogue with its past.
The city, dual as a ghost wandering through the sands of time and as an entity with a fossilized cry of silence, stands as a testament to a violently repressed past trapped in an eternal present, serving as a living example of the profound chasm that separates hope from despair, life from death.
Each photograph unveils the harsh realities of today, weaving new images into individual and collective memory with the pain of longing accompanying the occupied city of Famagusta and all the occupied territories of the Republic of Cyprus.
Stefanos Kouratzis' introduction to the book reads: "In yet another provocative illegality, the occupation regime in October 2020 opened part of the fenced city of Famagusta, converting the deserted city usurped from its lawful Greek inhabitants into a grotesque thematic park, indeed under the misleading guise of a tourist destination." and that "Unknowingly and unwillingly, each one of us becomes a witness to continuing, relentless violence in a post-conflict era."
Through the pages of this photobook, Famagusta, profoundly marked by history and defiant against oblivion, endures open wounds that refuse to heal, living as a prisoner of time, with its images-witnesses speaking a universal language, longing to breathe again. It becomes a symbol of all cities, transcending the narrow geographical boundaries of Cyprus, touching the global consciousness, inviting the viewer-reader to a deep reflection and contemplation on the human experience of loss and nostalgia. At the same time, it serves as a vital archive of our cultural heritage, reminding us of the importance to safeguard memory and historical truth, which we must protect and pass on to future generations.
Limited-edition (500 printed), hardcover, 104 black and white images
Hardcover
Size: 30 x 23 cm (landscape format)
180 pages, 104 photographs
Printed on Art Matt 150 Grs paper
For the enclosed city, 50 years after the Turkish invasion and occupation, time seems to have stopped in 1974, in a surreal cinematic setting.
The bilingual (Greek and English) 180-page hardcover photobook guides the reader through a journey of 104 black and white images across three chapters. Each photograph, while also functioning as a standalone piece, initiates a dialogue with the viewer-reader and connects to the next, weaving a continuous narrative of Varosha, the enclosed part of Famagusta.
At first glance, the city seems to carry nothing of its past, but its own history, topography, and details are present, indelible. The photographs, stripped of colour, focus on the form, volumes, and textures of the elements that compose and shape the space.
Stefanos Kouratzis' visits to the city were meticulously planned to conceptually convey the present-day enclosed city in dialogue with its past.
The city, dual as a ghost wandering through the sands of time and as an entity with a fossilized cry of silence, stands as a testament to a violently repressed past trapped in an eternal present, serving as a living example of the profound chasm that separates hope from despair, life from death.
Each photograph unveils the harsh realities of today, weaving new images into individual and collective memory with the pain of longing accompanying the occupied city of Famagusta and all the occupied territories of the Republic of Cyprus.
Stefanos Kouratzis' introduction to the book reads: "In yet another provocative illegality, the occupation regime in October 2020 opened part of the fenced city of Famagusta, converting the deserted city usurped from its lawful Greek inhabitants into a grotesque thematic park, indeed under the misleading guise of a tourist destination." and that "Unknowingly and unwillingly, each one of us becomes a witness to continuing, relentless violence in a post-conflict era."
Through the pages of this photobook, Famagusta, profoundly marked by history and defiant against oblivion, endures open wounds that refuse to heal, living as a prisoner of time, with its images-witnesses speaking a universal language, longing to breathe again. It becomes a symbol of all cities, transcending the narrow geographical boundaries of Cyprus, touching the global consciousness, inviting the viewer-reader to a deep reflection and contemplation on the human experience of loss and nostalgia. At the same time, it serves as a vital archive of our cultural heritage, reminding us of the importance to safeguard memory and historical truth, which we must protect and pass on to future generations.
Limited-edition (500 printed), hardcover, 104 black and white images
Hardcover
Size: 30 x 23 cm (landscape format)
180 pages, 104 photographs
Printed on Art Matt 150 Grs paper
Book Information
ISBN:
978-9925-632-16-9
Publisher:
Stefanos Kouratzis