Marking a world first exhibition, a series of photographs taken by Greek Australian photographer based in Sydney Nick Bourdaniotis will be on display at the War Museum in Athens this month.
The exhibition, running from 20 to 31 March 2023, is part of Greece’s ongoing celebrations of the Greek Revolution of 1821 and will be held under the patronage of H.E. the President of the Hellenic Republic Ms Katerina Sakellaropoulou.
Bourdaniotis’ exhibition opened for the first time in Sydney in February 2021 under the auspices of Archbishop Makarios of Australia, before travelling across the country hosted in places including the National Museum in Canberra and the Maritime Museum in Sydney.
It is the culmination of years of work which started during the photographer’s first encounter with the Evzones when a detachment of the Presidential Guard came to Sydney in 2016 to participate in the ANZAC Day commemoration.
Bourdaniotis was granted rare, behind-the-scenes access into the daily lives of the Evzones for historical, archival, media and television purposes over seven years.
For the Greek Australian photographer, each image comes to life as “an artistic creation using a digital brush and enhanced by an impeccable sense of timing to capture the moment.”
The shots range from stylized movements such as in the changing of the guard to completely motionless frames with the Evzones standing at full attention.
Nick Bourdaniotis’ photographs of the Evzones will be compulsory viewing at the museum, immediately greeting visitors with a ground floor foyer display.
Inaugurated in July 1975 to facilitate the exhibition of war relics as well as the documentation and promotion of the struggles of the Greek nation over the ages, the Athens War Museum makes for a natural setting for the exhibition.
It is the largest museum of military history in Greece, and its collections include historical, photographic and cinematographic archives.
Exhibition director George Karantonis and exhibition curator Eirini Alligiannis will also travel to Athens on the occasion of the exhibition.
