Local media on Friday reported that authorities were looking for two people suspected of being involved in the attack on the house of artist Giorgos Gavriel on Thursday night.

The investigation comes after unknown individuals threw firecrackers at the artist’s house, after a public debate following an exhibition of his works, which was criticised as a provocation and blasphemy, leading to its cancellation.

According to the police, CCTV footage of the artist’s house showed two people riding a motorcycle and later throwing the explosives at Gavriel’s house in the Kokkinotrimithia area.

Speaking to the Cyprus Mail on Friday, however, police could not confirm the reports, emphasising that due to ongoing investigations, no further details could be provided on the matter.

Nobody was hurt in the attack, however local media reported that at the time of the attack, Gavriel was at home with his family – his wife, children and grandchildren.

The Ecologist’s Μovement on Friday spoke of Thursday’s events as “an act of violence that exceeds all limits and cannot be tolerated in a democratic society”.

The party said that it was publicly known that Gavriel’s art clearly sought to provoke and initiate discussions, stressing however that disagreements could not be resolved with threats or violence and called for dialogue.

“Disagreement – even strong or harsh criticism – is one thing, and targeting people with acts of intimidation and terrorism is another. The use of explosives, even flash-bangs, is a dangerous and absolutely condemnable act that endangers human lives,” the party said.

The incident took place around 6pm, with the police initially speaking of a ‘makeshift explosive device’ that went off near the artist’s residence.

The Blue Iris gallery in Paphos had last weekend cancelled its exhibition of Gavriel’s works after his paintings were considered offensive to Orthodox Christian symbols.

Gavriel’s works depict Christ, the Virgin Mary and other sacred icons in a way that was described as a “deliberate desecration” by Disy MP Efthymios Diplaros.

“Invoking ‘freedom of expression’ is a cheap excuse for offending the religious conscience of millions of believers. Tolerance of such acts is not neutrality, it is complicity. Our faith is not a sketch, it is not a caricature, it is not an object of ridicule. Enough is enough. Respect now,” the MP said.

House President Annita Demetriou later equally condemned the exhibition, emphasising that “freedom of expression cannot be an excuse for vulgarity”.

Paphos mayor Phedonas Phedonos described the works as “unacceptable” and “provocative”.

The art gallery on Sunday announced the cancelling of the exhibition, as it had provoked “opposition from a section of society”, arguing that the gallery did not “desire to become a conduit for further unrest.”