The exhibition titled ''Greek seas: a photographic journey in time'', depicts the undeniable link of the sea and the Greek people through the centuries and, more specifically, the Greek society around seascapes during the 19th and 20th century through the lens of famous and amateur photographers. Following the invention of photography in the mid-19th century and to this date, the Aegean Sea has never stopped inspiring all sorts of artists, painters, novelists and poets who have found the sea to be their common topic of interest.

Loukas Benakis, Mykonos,1965

The use of the camera lens becomes more and more widespread at the end of the 19^th century, mainly due to the discovery of roll films that substantially replaced the glass plates which weighed a lot more and were hard to use. In conjunction with the improvement in transportation, travellers - photographers were able to capture more moments during their journeys, while the local photographers could also illustrate most of the historical events of contemporary Greece, i.e. the destruction of Smyrna.

Spiros Zervoudakis , from the series “Epiphany”, 2009.

Through approximately 350 photographs, the exhibition at Benaki Museum will essentially run us through the history of the Greek land and the strong connection of the inhabitants to the seas that surround the country. The material is divided into five chronological groups: the second half of the 19th century, the first decades of the 20th century, the interwar years, the post WWII years, as well as the era just after the fall of the junta dictatorship and up to the present day.

The criteria for the selection of the photographic material was based on the interest displayed in relation to the evolution of the medium but, in addition, to their ability in conveying the visitor to the historical, ideological and aesthetic spirit of its age and to the relationship people had with the sea, the inhabitant’s way of life in coastal and island communities, the development of sea-going vessels and, last but not least, to the evolution of the Greek islands as a place of visit from the very first tourists to the age of mass tourism.

Loukas Vassilikos, Heraklion - Crete, 2007.

The exhibition will be open to the public until January 14^th 2014 and the days and hours of operation are as pointed below:

Thursday, Sunday : 10:00 to 18:00

Friday, Saturday: 10:00 to 22:00

The Benaki Museun annexe of Pireos street remains closed on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays and on the public holidays of the 28^th of October, 25^th & 26^th of December, on the 1^st of January and on the 6^th of January. 

From: Eva Kanellopoulos

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