ABSTRACT
The present research mainly focuses on the iconography and display of violence and death in museums, in such a politically contested space as Cyprus. It especially concentrates on what I call “sacred displays”: museum displays, which are devoted to Cypriot (Greek Cypriot or Turkish Cypriot) heroes or martyrs and which, almost always, contain emblematic photographs of the victims. Often displayed together with other objects, such as remnants of the clothing of the violently deceased, personal equipment or other related relics, these displays, basically bearing religious connotations, aim at triggering nationalistic emotions in the viewer. In Cyprus, the public display of heroic death through photographs is not uncommon. These emblematic portraits of death, like, for instance, the photos of heroes and martyrs are often displayed in schools, village coffee shops, football clubs, local associations and in public monuments or cenotaphs throughout the island. These are not only icons of death, but they have also often become iconic images of atrocity, echoing iconic atrocities mainly associated with national ideology. This chapter examines how certain museums in Cyprus (both in the northern and the southern parts) stimulate specific nationalistic narratives by using photography and objects related to atrocity and death. Using several examples of displays from various Cypriot museums, my intention is to mainly focus on the politics of such displays, their semiotics, ethics and aesthetics, also attempting to draw parallels between the display of death, nationalism and religion.
