By Heidi Trautmann

The sun setting on the evening of the opening gave off a very special light over the wide stretch of land with Nicosia in the background, the beauty of Cyprus, while we were waiting outside the new art gallery to be opened by the artist and by HE Mustafa Akinci. The ‘old guard’ of artists had come to see Aylin Örek’s works which – as I was told has never been shown in Cyprus in its entity. What a sensation. Aylin is regarded as one of the oldest famous Cypriot artists painting her country’s life style in all its details, this fragile woman but so strong…and to make it short…I admire her.  She has a style of her own, she has studied in Istanbul, Belgium and France, and she was influenced by the wave of modern and demanding art that swept over Europe in those days, with a sort of freedom that came over the art scene. I remember well as we are born the same year, 1941.

I met Aylin some years ago on the occasion of an exhibition she visited, one of her rare appearances. I had asked her if I could come and interview her for my book ‘Art and Creativity in North Cyprus’ but she refused, and said, I have never done it before and I will not do it now. I am actually very unhappy that she is not included in my book. Whenever we meet we speak in French;  she was involved in the Association for Women in Arts and at their event some years ago she was the coordinator in Cyprus, please read my report. http://www.heiditrautmann.com/category.aspx?CID=4431173534#.WQBHkWl96Uk

She also spent some time and worked at the Ivory Coast as some of the paintings make us aware. She is internationally recognized, won many awards and her work is to be found in many collections. The beautiful paintings she showed this year at Art Gallery are not for sale. Today she lives in the centre of Old Nicosia, the place she was born and has told so many stories about.

Many of the evening’s visitors were happy to see the collection which Aylin Örek has put up all by herself on the walls of the young gallery, Bedia Kale told me, Zehra Şonya, the newly elected President of EMAA said: “Finally I can see Aylin’s work, I have been waiting for it for many years and before she hides them again, as many people as possible should come to see the exhibition. It is history.”

I totally agree, the works displayed are of an era gone by, it will not come back.

The exhibition is open until 13 May, daily from 10:00 to 18:00 except Sundays. See the map for directions; it is not far from BRT, coming from the roundabout Girne to Ercan after the Pepsicola building a small road to the left. Tel 0392 225 81595 or 0533 866 5114.