13 October 2020
“Disappearing Wall”: A European Project of the Goethe-Institut Travels to Cyprus

The interactive wall installation "Disappearing Wall" combines quotes from European high and pop culture to demonstrate Europe’s diversity.

From summer 2020, the striking installations can be seen in ten European countries. In Cyprus the "Disappearing Wall" will be shown on 24 and 25 October 2020 at the Faneromeni Square in Nicosia and on 7 and 8 November 2020 at the Molos seafront in Limassol.

The Disappearing Wall is an interactive art installation presented by the Goethe-Institut on the occasion of the German EU Council Presidency. It presents a selection of famous quotes – fragments from songs and poems, quotes from favourite films, novels and philosophical works - submitted by Europeans through the process of local open calls. Whether it is a quote from Hannah Arendt, a lyric from a Beatles song, a line from the film Amélie, or a statement by the Hungarian Nobel Prize winner Imre Kertész, the quotes chosen for the installations are diverse and illustrate the linguistic and intellectual diversity of our continent.

The installation consists of a plexiglas frame filled with thousands of small wooden blocks, which are engraved with quotes in their original language as well as in translation. After the installation’s unveiling, passers-by will be permitted to take a block home with them. As the quote-blocks are gradually being removed, all that will remain is the transparent plexiglas grid that held them: the wall will disappear. This process symbolically shows that the walls that we build and separate communities, peoples and everyday people can disappear with collective effort.

The Disappearing Wall is based on an idea of Maria Yablonina and carried out by architect and engineer Werner Sobek. She developed this idea in a workshop, which was initiated by the Goethe-Institut. From summer 2020, the Disappearing Wall can be seen in ten European countries: Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Great Britain/Northern Ireland, Poland, Lithuania, Spain, Italy, Greece, and Cyprus.

The presentation of the Disappearing Wall in Cyprus will be accompanied by a sound installation created by Nektarios Rodosthenous.

The events will take place in accordance with the health and safety measures announced by the authorities.