“Landmarks” were the first environmental and land art of Rinos Stefani together with Susan Vargas in 1990 in the Akamas Peninsula, Cyprus. The “Landmarks” were the forerunner of Praxis, (performative installations) by Rinos Stefani which he developed the following years. In 1991 he did a performance titled “Praxis with Earth” at Apocalypse Gallery, Nicosia. Stefani chose the Akamas area for its unspoiled environment. It is, in fact, the last place on Cyprus to remain largely untouched by mass tourism and development. In spite of its unique and precious ecology, Akamas remains fragile and still under threat, mainly by land developers who are coveting to build luxury hotels and turn this natural area into a “touristic paradise.” Until the year 2000, the British Army and Navy were using Akamas for military exercises and as a firing range. Under the 1960 Treaty of Establishment, the British Army could use the Akamas for exercises. The Akamas area covers about 230 square km and is located on the western tip of Cyprus. Stefani during that period had close ties with the Green movement and he participated in several protests against developing Akamas as well as the demilitarization of the Peninsula.
Rinos Stefani with visual artist Susan Vargas explored Akamas extensively, walking from the town of Peyia to Cape Arnaoutis and Polis Chrysohou. They made installations with found materials, stones, wood, bones etc and they called them “Landmarks.”
Susan Vargas: Art was confused with Satanism
Susan Vargas, visual artist and co-curator of the project “On Target”, European Capital of Culture Pafos 2017, writes in the catalogue of the exhibition:
“In 1990 I started working with Rinos Stefani doing the Landmarks, in the Akamas area. We made Earth and Site Specific works in remote areas. We were using wood, stones, bones and any material available. Some of the works were eventually “discovered” by fishermen, hunters and shepherds who spread the word and probably reported it to the police. One day we were surprise to see our works on the TV news. They were reports, supported by “serious” evidence from local people, confirming that these were works by Satanists! It was a hilarious situation!
Happenings, site specific works and Environmental Art arose in Europe and America in the 1960s. In Cyprus, however, until 1990 very few artists had been engaged in these kinds of art. Rinos Stefani introduced his Praxeis – a combination of installation with performative elements – in 1990. In 1991 he did the performance Praxis with Earth in Nicosia, the first art performance in Cyprus. Rinos chose the name “Praxeis” to emphasize the priority of action over theory.
Rinos Stefani starts his Praxeis happenings
After Landmarks Rinos embarks on his various Praxeis happenings. In October 1991, he presented the installation Mannequins at the ancient Tombs of the Kings, Paphos. In July 1992 he did the happening Maa-Mannequins at Coral Bay beach in Paphos, in which he placed 20 plastic, life-size dolls among the bikini-clad crowd. He showed the installation Mousetraps at Famagusta Gate, Nicosia, in 1993 and soon after to the Kyrenia Castle. During a journey to Latin America, in July 1993, he realized the Praxis Osoguaico. This was in San Agustin, in the Andes of Colombia. Rinos’s most known Praxis is the installation Soldiers-Targets.
The Targets and other Praxeis
In May 1994, during an exhibition at Famagusta Gate, Nicosia, three of the Soldiers – Targets were stolen. This incident fed the media with “polemic” material. It elicited varied reactions from the Police, the Nicosia Municipality, the Chamber of Fine Arts, the Ministry of Education and Culture etc. Among the most tragicomic aspects of this case were the various testimonies that Rinos had to give to the Police. Since then, the “Soldiers-Targets case” remains partly unsolved in the files of the Criminal Investigation Department, under record number Σ/744/94.
I remember we were doing an installation in Akamas when some officers from the Forestry Department asked us to stop immediately. They said we didn’t have permission to collect trash!
In the summer of 2005, Rinos travelled to the Amazon River and realised the Praxis Ama – Zon, in the area where three countries – Colombia, Peru and Brazil – meet.
The above are only some of Rinos Stefani’s Praxeis. And each Praxis is accompanied by countless details, which perhaps constitute the real, dynamic relationship between the artwork and the public. In essence, this is the meaning of Praxeis: The redefinition of the relationship between the work of art and the viewer. In any event, Rinos manages to involve the public in his Praxeis. And he achieves this because he invents and uses ambiguous images, which are imbued with power, sarcasm and humor.
(Text from the book “Rinos Stefani, Acrobats” 2008)
