The title of this exhibition was partially borrowed from Robert Shipley, one of the artists who travelled to the Mediterranean island to observe the Canadian presence during UNFICYP deployments. Featuring mainly landscapes, by Robert Shipley and other artists, this exhibition also brings forward some of the faces that lived and worked in Cyprus between 1966 and 1985, during rotations of SNOWGOOSE, as the operation was known by the Canadian military.

This exhibition was open to the public between 17 July and 22 September 2024 at The Royal Canadian Regiment Museum. Forty-four watercolors, drawings, cartoons, prints and black and white photographs were selected among the museum holdings, but also from the Beaverbrook Art Collection at the Canadian War Museum and the Archives and Special Collections at the University of Western Ontario; several private loans were added which allowed for the unveiling of art pieces previously unknown.

Before smartphones and social media, human imaginary was equally fascinated by routine. Yet, routine was captured with different mediums and multifaceted skills. This exhibition verifies an argument in favour of a traditional approach, which accepts a more realistic taste for depicting the visible world. With an analog photographic camera, a pen or a brush, the artists may surprise their viewers with precision, spontaneous brush strokes, ultimately, the unexpected detail which helps identifying a specific narrative beyond the images on paper or canvas.

In Cyprus, professional artists or serving members with artistic inclinations generated a sizeable production from which the pieces for this exhibition were selected. The original art and photography displayed here, were inspired or created during The RCR’s deployments under UNFICYP, from 1966 to 1984. It seems that inspiration have waned during the later rotations, in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Some of these pieces chosen are the work of individuals who travelled as part of the Canadian Armed Forces Civilian Artists Program (CAFCAP), a military art program running from 1968 to 1995. To paraphrase Dr. Laura Brandon, this program was built on the foundations of the military art produced during the First and Second World Wars; it opened a door to the expression of individual artistic flair while developing a “documentary” production.

Other works on show are the creation of media experts, photo reporters or illustrators visiting battalions of The RCR deployed in Cyprus. Specific events or simple curiosity for the island became as many occasions to explore the landscape, the people, and the light under the Mediterranean sky.

Even members of The RCR abandoned themselves to the charm of the sights; the result was meritorious, raising up to or exceeding the standards of virtuoso draftsmen. 

Rupert Samuelson was an officer in the Grenadier Guards, a British Army regiment. By 1966 he was retired and lived in Kyrenia, hosting bridge games to which Canadian officers were invited. His hobby was painting and in early 1967, an exhibition featuring his landscapes opened in the city.

A member of the Intelligence Platoon during 1RCR’s SNOWGOOSE rotation 42, (1984 – 1985), Master Corporal Bernie Viscount was requested to sketch portraits of the officers on tour. With humour, and a firm pen, he draws faces linked to the specific interest of the individual. The effort resulted in a composite print, a Cyprus end-of-tour surprise for all who are represented.

Kyrenia – Nicosia

The 1^st Battalion, The RCR (1RCR), deployed to Cyprus starting in 1966. At the time, headquarters were situated in Kyrenia, a harbour city founded in ancient times, but occupied successively by Greeks, Byzantines, Venetians, Ottomans, and British. After Cyprus became independent from the British rule, Kyrenia was inhabited in majority by Greeks, and only 25% Turks. Canadian military patrolled and watched the mountain area between the two cities. After 1974, when Greeks were forced to flee Kyrenia while Turkish Cypriots displaced from elsewhere on the island moved in, Canadian troops established quarters south, in the capital city Nicosia. With an extended buffer zone, Canadians were assigned the so-called Sector 4 or CANCON (another acronym for the Canadian Contingent), stretching south-east of the capital city to Lourougina pocket. In Nicosia, Ledra Palace Hotel, once a lavish tourist destination, offered lodgings to officers and non-commissioned officers for many years; Sector 4 Headquarters were eventually known as “Wolseley Barracks” after The RCR’s home station in London, ON.

The Green Line

Crossing the capital city Nicosia and stretching over 300 km from east to west of Cyprus, the Green Line is a demilitarized zone patrolled by UNFICYP. It delineates the authorities of Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots since 1963, when only 180 km were covered. After the Turkish invasion in August 1974, the Green Line expanded to today’s length. Forces of the participant countries rotated periodically (and continue to do so) in order to monitor this buffer zone thus ensuring stability on an island inhabited by nationals of two NATO member-countries: Turkey and Greece.

Observation Posts

At the end of 1966, an eye-witness described the overall situation in Cyprus as quiet, but “no matter how quiet it may seem, each day poses a new problem; the task here […] requiring twenty-four-hour vigilance and patience.” This task was performed in strategic locations established along the Green Line, some inside the cities, others in the arid countryside. They are more commonly referred to as “OPs”, an abbreviation for “Observation Post”, or as an editorialist from the London Free Press described them, “code-named of plywood and sandbags in no man’s land.” Until 1993, when Canadian government drastically reduced the contribution to UNFICYP, The RCR battalions observed patiently from the OPs situated in Sector 4.

People

Artists who favoured the portrait genre took an equal interest in exploring the physiognomy of locals and of UNFICYP members. The interaction of the military with Greek or Turk Cypriots did not escape the sharp eye of the photographer who captured lively conversations with his camera. Artists portrayed not only faces, but also connected these faces to interests or occupations of choice. Cartoonists rendered with humour the profile of men on duty.

Acknowledgements

In addition to the artworks and artefacts from the RCRM collection, many pieces in this exhibition are on loan from various sources whom we wish to acknowledge here: the Beaverbrook Art Collection, Canadian War Museum, Archives and Special Collections at the University of Western Ontario, artist Robert Shipley, and other private collections mentioned on the legends accompanying each piece.

The research for this exhibition was possible with support from London Room at London Public Library, Local History Room at Richview Branch, Toronto Public Library, and the Legion Magazine. The Regimental Headquarters, The RCR, Petawawa Military Museums, and Museum London helped by searching their holdings to ensure that no stone was left unturned. The Art Bank, Stevens E3, CANADIGM, Obre Projects, STQRY, Studio Mondu, Astley Gilbert, Signature Graphics, and Total Fine Arts made an essential contribution to the logistics of this exhibition.

We also wish to acknowledge the support of several individuals who promptly answered our questions or requests while trying to assemble a puzzle with many missing pieces. In no specific order, they are: Major General (retired) Frank Norman, Brigadier General (retired) Philip Spencer, Colonel (retired) Joseph Aitchison, Colonel (retired) Robert Elms, Major Matthew Coughlin, Captain Scott Robinson, Captain (retired) Roy Goldik, Captain (retired) Ray Fleming, Captain (retired) Michael O’Leary, Chief Warrant Officer (retired) Don Reily, Master Corporal (retired) Richard Howard, Dr. Robert Shipley, Cameron Tingley, Jocelyn Brooke, August Macdonnell, Theresa Regnier, Amanda Jamieson, Annika Lauffer, Nathan Larsen, Alanna Rayner, Lauren Millett, Margaret Fraser, Ben Fuller, Amber Lloydlangston, Cassandra Getty, Marylin Murray, Bill Sandford, Zenon Andruszynzyn, Ray Fair, Mike Brown, Paul Culliton, Petru-Ioan Obreja, Cosmo Tancredi, Kerry Loudoun, Sarah Coates, Kenna Robinson, Beth Spitzig, Ben Norton, Kristin Knoll, Bill Majovsky, Marley Vance, Paul Meath, Kyoko Baba, Micca Kendrick, Jelyn Nikka Deang, Stephen Thomas, Dave Beattie, James Wolfe, Rafal Kowolski, Justin Scrimshaw, Melanie Peters, Rachel Swift.