NICOSIA, Cyprus — Andreas Efstathiou's vision of Cyprus' tanking economy is 20 plaster-and-perlite creations that look like toilets but also resemble tombstones.
The artist put them on display on Monday in two neat rows outside the gates of Cyprus' central bank.
A police officer reacts as he walks past the white-gray plaster and perlite creations that look like toilets outside of the gate of Cyprus central bank building in Nicosia, Cyprus, Monday, June 10, 2013. Placed in two neat rows outside the gates of Cyprus’ central bank, the 20 white-gray plaster and perlite creations look like toilets but also resemble tombstones. That’s 49-year-old Andreas Efstathiou’s vision of Cyprus’ tanking economy which he says he felt compelled to put on display on Monday. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
Passers-by greeted the work with a mixture of bemusement and resigned acceptance. "Isn't it the truth," said 62-year-old Kokos Konstantinou as he gazed at it.
Just as artistic expression has flourished elsewhere in crisis-hit euro-area countries, Efstathiou said it's his wish for Cypriots to get off their couches and express their disdain at the country's sorry state.
Cyprus agreed on a 23 billion-euro ($30.5 billion) bailout in March with its eurozone partners and the IMF.
