Oya Silbery, an artist based in Cyprus, develops her practice within the framework of experimental art, exploring everyday life, memory, and ties of belonging. Her work is inspired by layers of memory, recollection, comfort zones, childhood, and place, with particular emphasis on the relationship between material and emotional expression. In recent years, she has created series using the nostalgic qualities of Polaroid photographs—such as their scale, colour, and contrast—to forge connections between place and memory. These “scenes” evoke a sense of familiarity while also carrying a silence that distances them from the present.

The places and structures that constitute the most significant elements in the formation of collective memory have suffered lasting ruptures as a result of the political, demographic, and environmental transformations that have taken place over the past 15–20 years, alongside Cyprus’s ongoing problem of unity that has persisted for more than fifty years. Forced migrations, spatial divisions, ecological degradation, and social uncertainty have distanced individuals from their roots and weakened their sense of belonging. Thus, space emerges not merely as an aesthetic experience but also as a political and social arena of debate. Silbery’s photographs serve as a visual exploration that extends beyond personal memory, engaging with the island’s origins, identity, and belonging. For her, the sense of security these images evoke is linked less to nostalgia than to the feeling of being “at home”. Considering the voids created by rapid transformations in living environments, this series can be seen as an attempt to reconstruct belonging and spatial memory amid urban change and political fragmentation.

Silbery works across a range of disciplines including painting, illustration, photography, and book design. She completed her undergraduate studies in painting and is currently pursuing a PhD in Art and Design. Since 2012, she has served as the director and curator of Kyrenia Art Rooms Gallery, The Arkın Rodin Collection Gallery, and ARUCAD Art Space in Cyprus. She also works as the Art and Culture Coordinator at ARUCAD (Arkın University of Creative Arts and Design).