iC/O BerlinCharlottenburg
After Nature Prize 26: photographs, films and sculptural assemblages from Akrotiri, Cyprus, where rich ecosystems meet military infrastructure.
One photograph here shows the Red Arrows, the RAF's display team, flying in a V. Kallinikou put it in because migrating birds fly the same shape to save energy, and at Akrotiri, a British base area in southern Cyprus, both use the sky over one salt lake.
He has photographed and filmed the peninsula for over ten years, from Limassol harbour across the lake to the cliffs of Aetokremnos, where 12,000-year-old pygmy hippo bones were found. You move between flamingos under radar antennas, a film, and sculptures made of carved garden stones meant to hold water for birds and stray animals. Berlin turned Tempelhof into a park for kites and barbecues; Akrotiri's flamingos still have the RAF for neighbours.
The museum says it avoids a linear narrative, so you piece the place together yourself. Tickets are €15, free up to 18 and free for everyone on Monday 2 November. C/O is open daily until 20:00, and Kallinikou gives a talk on 15 October.
The Red Arrows in formation
Look for the RAF's aerobatic team flying in a V, the same formation migratory birds use to cut drag on long flights.
Flamingos and radar
Flamingos stand in the Akrotiri Salt Lake while antennas and radar systems rise from its shore.
Gathering
Handmade carved stones, traditionally left in gardens as water bowls for birds and stray animals, assembled into sculptures about water scarcity on the island.
The film
A stream of images runs from a breath to a scream, then through a river, a stone, a supernova, a nest, a lake and fire.