Why Alice is not in Wonderland? Countering the Militarized status quo of Cyprus

Abstract

Why Alice is not in Wonderland? Countering the militarized status quo of Cyprus is a narrative, part of the author’s diary. It is a reflection on a critical spatial practice, a performative event, titled “Alice in Meridianland… or the counter-militarization action”, part of the Buffer Fringe Performance Festival, Nicosia, Cyprus, 2019. The critical spatial practice comments on Cyprus’ actual militarization status by offering alternative urban imaginaries for the urban commons of an island without armies. It has taken place along a loop of streets and public spaces both in the north and the south parts of divided Nicosia. “Alice in Meridianland” is a camouflage tactic to conceal its anti-militaristic nature while crossing the guarded checkpoints into the city’s north part. Two tricycles, pulling 3-meter long banners, have followed the loop in opposite directions, three times. They met at designated areas and formed instant spaces of playful interaction. The narrative unpacks the entanglements between the performative event and the city’s users of the streets and public spaces. It unfolds how the event has generated new associations between the public spaces and the feelings of the participants and of the author. How it readjusted their mental maps and urban imaginaries. The narrative is a reflective tool for critical spatial practices in producing situated knowledge.