Title: Design for the Cthulucene: Common Land, Vulnerability and Imagination in Famagusta

Author: William Lawrence

Year: 2025

Abstract: Situated in Famagusta, on the eastern coast of Cyprus, these stories follow a collective formed through kinship and shared vulnerabilities to collectively manage and care for a threatened lake ecology. Rooted in the Cypriot concept of Hali Arazi – “the poeple’s land” – the project envisions collaborative stewardship in opposition to extractive, homogonising development practices. It is informed by queer Cypriot artistic practices that subvert colonial, nationalist and capitalist narratives through alternative uses of landscape, urban space and culture, proposing a queer ethic of care as a foundation for design and collaboration.