On Greek Photography: Eurocentrism, Cultural Colonialism and the Construction of Mythic Classical Greece

Abstract

This article aims to establish the grounds for a postcolonial reading of both Greece and its representation. It attempts to take a deeper look at the framework in which the image of Greece is constructed, interpreted and finally represented by examining how Greek photography has evaluated and represented its domestic environment, and the degree to which such an operation has been determined or influenced by dominant Western culture. The term cultural colonialism or cultural Westernisation of the globe is most relevant in the type of approach adopted here. In order to frame his topic of interest, the author has taken into consideration the photographic work of the Greek photographer Nelly. Overall, Nelly illustrates a good deal about the desired identity of the new state, an image of how Greece’s new middle class desired both their country and themselves to appear, that is, how they sought to constitute their social, cultural and national identity.