11-05-2021
Tutor: Jessica Elias
Beyond the Barbed Wires:
Photography and Nationalism in the Turkish Cypriot Postmemory
Beyond the barbed wires, the Greek Cypriots observe the Turkish Cypriots. Reluctant to cross
the UN buffer zone, the ethnically divided groups live in separate republics with separate
perceptions of their recent history (Cassia 1999, 37). From differing interpretations, differing
socio-political narratives may spawn, and from that, differing semiological myths. According
to French scholar Roland Barthes, myths entail a process of normalizing ideas that are
accepted by society. These societal conventions transform into cultural norms that become
naturalized in the stage of myth-making. These myths may contain elements from real life
but are stripped of their complexity in their recurring reinterpretation (Barthes 19, 53-54). For
Turkish Cypriots, the cultural trauma from the sporadic acts of intercommunal violence
between 1956 to 1974 is defining. Harrowing and gruesome images from the civilian conflict
are continuously displayed in credential institutions such as museums and history books
(Bounia and Stylianou-Lambert 2012, 24-25). A prime concern in the circulation of these
types of photographs is the one-sided narrative they enforce. As a result, Greek Cypriots are
often regarded as villains and single perpetrators of the conflict, complicating hopes of future
conflict resolution and vice-versa (Hatay 2009, 150). Despite the depth of the Cypriot
conflict, its altering local interpretations are scarcely analyzed. Most alarmingly, nationalistic
narratives produced from conflicts are rarely examined amidst conflict resolution. Therefore,
this paper investigates Turkish Cypriot nationalism, in relation to photography as a tool and
its implications on the postmemory. First, this paper conducts a close reading on a
conflict-marked image of significance to the Turkish Cypriot community, then it provides
relevant context, and later it reflects on its conceptual application of myth as defined by
Barthes. Finally, it argues that iconic imagery, similar to the image chosen, can perpetuate
nationalist narratives in the collective post-memory of Turkish Cypriots.
1
Tutor: Jessica Elias
Beyond the Barbed Wires:
Photography and Nationalism in the Turkish Cypriot Postmemory
Beyond the barbed wires, the Greek Cypriots observe the Turkish Cypriots. Reluctant to cross
the UN buffer zone, the ethnically divided groups live in separate republics with separate
perceptions of their recent history (Cassia 1999, 37). From differing interpretations, differing
socio-political narratives may spawn, and from that, differing semiological myths. According
to French scholar Roland Barthes, myths entail a process of normalizing ideas that are
accepted by society. These societal conventions transform into cultural norms that become
naturalized in the stage of myth-making. These myths may contain elements from real life
but are stripped of their complexity in their recurring reinterpretation (Barthes 19, 53-54). For
Turkish Cypriots, the cultural trauma from the sporadic acts of intercommunal violence
between 1956 to 1974 is defining. Harrowing and gruesome images from the civilian conflict
are continuously displayed in credential institutions such as museums and history books
(Bounia and Stylianou-Lambert 2012, 24-25). A prime concern in the circulation of these
types of photographs is the one-sided narrative they enforce. As a result, Greek Cypriots are
often regarded as villains and single perpetrators of the conflict, complicating hopes of future
conflict resolution and vice-versa (Hatay 2009, 150). Despite the depth of the Cypriot
conflict, its altering local interpretations are scarcely analyzed. Most alarmingly, nationalistic
narratives produced from conflicts are rarely examined amidst conflict resolution. Therefore,
this paper investigates Turkish Cypriot nationalism, in relation to photography as a tool and
its implications on the postmemory. First, this paper conducts a close reading on a
conflict-marked image of significance to the Turkish Cypriot community, then it provides
relevant context, and later it reflects on its conceptual application of myth as defined by
Barthes. Finally, it argues that iconic imagery, similar to the image chosen, can perpetuate
nationalist narratives in the collective post-memory of Turkish Cypriots.
1
