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Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Science

ISSN Online: 2576-0548 ISSN Print: 2576-0556 CODEN: JHASAY
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ArticleOpen Access http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/jhass.2026.03.025

When Images Challenge Power: Censorship in the Visual Arts and Church Authority in Contemporary Cyprus

Georgia Spanou

Open University of Cyprus, Latsia 2220, Nicosia, Cyprus.

*Corresponding author: Georgia Spanou

Published: March 31, 2026

Abstract

This article examines a recent case of artistic censorship in the Republic of Cyprus through the controversy surrounding Greek-Cypriot visual artist Giorgos Gavriel. In 2020, a series of Gavriel’s satirical paintings critiquing religious and national symbols provoked strong public and institutional reactions, culminating in calls by the Church of Cyprus for disciplinary action against the artist. Drawing on visual culture studies, semiotic analysis, and Foucault’s concept of regimes of truth, the article analyzes how specific visual strategies disrupt dominant moral and national narratives, thereby triggering mechanisms of informal censorship. Situating the case within Cyprus’s historical Church-State entanglement, it is argued that artistic regulation operates less through explicit legal prohibition than through moral discourse, institutional ambiguity, and political deference. The Gavriel case reveals the fragile boundaries of secularism within an EU Member State and highlights the continuing power of religious authority in shaping cultural policy. By foregrounding the visual image as a site of political contestation, the article contributes to broader debates on censorship, artistic freedom, and democratic accountability in culturally conservative societies.

Keyword

Censorship; visual culture; artistic freedom; secularism; nationalism, identity, Cyprus; Church of Cyprus

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How to cite this paper

When Images Challenge Power: Censorship in the Visual Arts and Church Authority in Contemporary Cyprus

How to cite this paper: Georgia Spanou. (2026) When Images Challenge Power: Censorship in the Visual Arts and Church Authority in Contemporary Cyprus. Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Science10(3), 386-403.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/jhass.2026.03.025