By Christina Michailidis
Between Limassol and Paphos, high above the quiet stretch of Avdimou Beach, three vast spiral labyrinths of stone lie open to the sea and sun. This is The Noospheric Resonator, a land art installation created by artist, screenwriter and animation producer Pavel Muntyan. The installation is a place where visitors wander in silence, trace patterns underfoot and reconnect, not with technology but themselves.
“The idea for Noospheric Resonator came from a desire to create something meaningful for the island that became my home”, Muntyan says. “I wanted to build a place where people could come to mediate, take photos or simply be alone with themselves. It’s a non-commercial project and will remain that way, our gift to the island for its love, warmth, kindness, and openness.”
Set on a quiet slope, the Resonator occupies a patch of land lent to Muntyan by local resident Antonis. “The land has a special energy a blend of wind, sun, sea and the view of the Troodos mountains, a perfect point for meditation and resonance,” Muntyan says.
Its name comes from the word noosphere, the sphere of human consciousness. Muntyan sees it as “the layer of ideas and consciousness that unites us all the highest stage in the Earth’s evolution, when intellect becomes the main creative force.” For him, the work is a physical expression of that connection: “a centre that attracts all that is kind, rational and humane.”
Muntyan’s labyrinths are rich with symbolism. “Stone is the most ancient material, a symbol of stability and eternity,” he says. “Spirals are movement, evolution, infinity. I wanted to unite these two forces, the eternal and the living.” At the centre is the Labyrinth of Knowledge, 12 circles and 290 steps, equal to the number of days in human gestation. “When a person silently walks through it, meditating, they symbolically rebirth themselves” he says.
To either side lie two smaller formations: the Masculine Labyrinth made from blue stones and the Feminine Labyrinth, made from red, each offering visitors a chance to restore balance within themselves. “These planetary labyrinths have nine circles each and are extremely ancient symbols found around the world – from the Solovetsky Islands and the White Sea to Scandinavia, the British Isles, and the Mediterranean,” Muntyan explains.
The layout ends with a space he calls the Money Square which was designed to channel “the energy of prosperi”, decorated with mosaics and bronze fish crafted by the artist himself.
The Resonator has been under construction for a decade, and, according to Muntyan, is still evolving. “At first, I worked there with my mother”, he says. It’s not a commercial project; everything is done by hand and from the heart”.
There is no detailed master plan. “Everything is born spontaneously,” Muntyan says. “It’s shaped by the climate, by what materials we have and sometimes by coincidence.” One such coincidence brought the site’s megaliths, vast stones donated by a friend who happened to own a quarry nearby.
“We use local stone and avoid disturbing the landscape,” he says. “Everything is done by hand and from the heart.” The team usually works on Tuesday mornings, when the nearby Melanda Beach restaurant is closed and the area falls silent. “By Wednesday, people already notice the changes we’ve made.”
For Muntyan creation itself is a form of meditation, “When you create something especially in physical space – you enter a state of total concentration and presence,” he says. “Art and meditation are the same act, just expressed through different means.”
He encourages visitors to approach the labyrinths in their own way “visitors come for different reasons, some read tarot, others dance, some just sit and listen to the wind,” he says. What matters is that people feel calm and at peace. The only rules are simple: no litter, no damage. In the end, he says, the experience isn’t about ritual or ceremony. “It’s about finding silence inside yourself.”
Muntyan’s career in animation continues to shape how he thinks about the labyrinths of Avdimou. “Animation taught me how to build entire worlds from nothing,” Muntyan explains, “the Noospheric Resonator follows the same principle, only instead of pixels, I work with stones; instead of a screen, with the earth itself”.
He believes that art’s greatest purpose is to reconnect people with what they have forgotten. “Modern humans are losing touch with nature and with themselves,” he says. “Art helps restore that connection, not through preaching but through experience. When a person stands among the stones, under the sun and wind, they suddenly feel alive”. Many people seem to forget their phones and just spend time with their thoughts. This is after all Muntyan’s point, that it is not about the ritual but about being present.
Looking back, he says the Resonator has been more than artwork, it has been a teacher. “It taught me patience, gratitude and humility,” he reflects. “And it deepened my love for Cyprus, a feeling that words can barely capture”.
