Kochinohoma - Red Soil

‘Kochinochoma – Red Soil’ is a collaborative art project aiming to communicate the issue of illegal killing of migratory birds on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, by engaging in a post-mortem inquiry into the story of their unfortunate ending.

The problem:

The south-eastern corner of Cyprus is characterized by the redness of its soil, bearing proof of its nutrient richness and distinguishing it from the rest of the island's fertile arable lands. In addition to copiously giving this area's yields a source of nourishment and a trademark, the colour of this earth symbolizes a different, disingenuous harvest. The blush of this soil suggests this land’s intricate tie with blood; a remnant of the migratory birds trapped and killed, to be served on plates that generate the currency for the island's most extensive and controversial environmental battle.

Contrasting the ruddiness of the earth is the deep green of the exotic Acacia plantations. Alien, and highly invasive to the island’s delicate natural habitats, these Australian trees have cunningly been planted at this eastern promontory where birds, travelling on long routes carved for millennia, first meet land. Between their foliage lies the evidence; a sticky wand, a false song. Makeshift objects of high DIY sophistication, such as mist nets, lime sticks and decoys, with the sole purpose to attract and kill; expansively, voluminously, inhumanely and unselectively.

The book and the exhibition:

The project places the ‘Kochinohoma – Red Soil’ book as an artefact within an exhibition, which also includes an audio-visual element and an interactive installation.

The book tells the story of these birds’ unfortunate ending partly through what remains of them: the confiscated trapping paraphernalia that point to their capture and the artificial landscapes that lured them into an ephemeral home. The descriptions provided attempt to add to this inquiry by drawing on the nostalgic, extinction-inferring note of such accounts. The narrative followed is inspired by bird-watching guides, in an effort to retain the fervour that birds cause on their passage.

The exhibition invites the viewer to engage actively with this multifaceted and complex environmental issue which also has social, cultural, societal, economic and political dimensions. Through the experience of the exhibition, the opportunity is created not only for the additional dimensions of this issue to be surfaced, but also for a reflection to be drawn with each individual’s unique relationship with the subject itself, and how this translates to the societal level.

The audio-visual element in the form of a documentary film is available here https://vimeo.com/656938088 (with the password REDDEADSOIL).