Up in the Troodos Mountains there used to be an Asbestos Mine at Pano Amiantos. When the mine was closed in 1988, the village died along with it. Presumably, the villagers moved down the road to Kato Amiantos, or perhaps they went to the cities? Anyway, along with the deserted village and mine, you will also find an abandoned hospital. We have visited it in the past, and you can see those reports in the links at the foot of the page.

In our last report, I highlighted some excellent artwork that had appeared in one of the rooms. We will revisit that later in this article. As luck would have it, Anna, the artist responsible saw my story, and posted about it on Facebook. I was then able to make contact with her and have been following her ever since. I have been amazed at what she has done since my last visit, so decided on another trip to see her new creations.

If you decide to visit the hospital yourself, this is where you need to park on the B9 road. From here, take the lowest of the two tracks.

The lower track runs around the outside of the old hospital, though some heavy undergrowth. You will soon come to an old round pond, which has some nice reflections if there is no wind. Beyond that you will see this strange mushroom figure drawn on the wall, as well as some less artistic etchings. The best way to enter the hospital is through the open doorway on the left.

On one of the walls near the entrance you will see this little frog. Is in fact the first piece created by the artist in residence Anna Kucherova. She drew this when she was experimenting with her media. In her own words:

The little frog was my first graffiti there 2 years ago. I wanted to get into graffiti, but not in the usual way with spray paint; instead, I opted for acrylic markers. I tested them on the wall, they worked well, so I decided to continue.

I think we can all agree that it has migrated from graffiti to art now. I called it wild art in the title, because it is out there in the wild, where you wouldn't expect to find it. There is a fair bit of wild art in Cyprus, especially in the Troodos. A lot of it is in the form of strange sculptures made out of plastic bottles and dolls heads. That sort of thing. Some is of a larger scale too, like the old miniature village on the road from Pera Pedi to Trimiklini. None of them look as impressive as this though.

Anna even provides a handy map, showing you where to find the numerous exhibits. So let's take the Grand Tour.