Yellow Line, 1984, 60 plexiglas stands, 60 cloth flags. 32 x 14 x 9 cm each

The political situation in Cyprus and the Green Line that divides the island triggered Buren’s imagination in the 1980s. On his way to Japan for the 1985 Ushimado International Art Festival in Okayama, Buren made a brief stop on the island to experience first hand the tension between the two sides. A year later he returned with an artistic proposal to place yellow striped flags along the Green Line as a universal demonstration against the presence of a barrier between people who share a common ground.

The proposal passed through the proper channels but in the end was soundly rejected by the authorities, possibly for financial reasons. Thus Cyprus forfeited the opportunity to host a project that would have brought the island global cultural recognition and prestige. (Ironically, twenty years after the rejection of the Buren proposal, the unfortunate events surrounding the cancellation of Manifesta 6 in Nicosia resulted in Cyprus missing out on yet another important opportunity to be artistically redefined in the global arena.) Buren, on the other hand, acted correctly at the time and did not approach the occupied part of the island, so the project was shelved. Fortunately, however, the Sergiou Collection was able to acquire the rights to the project along with the model of the proposal.