What’s in a name?

Democracy, Tragedy, Olympus … powerful concepts and unforgettable images, all spurred by simple words made out of letters. The Greek alphabet has a set of 24 letters with each letter providing for words which eventually helped to produce ideas, set trends, shape thoughts and perceptions.

As a tribute to the subtle power of language, the Thessaloniki Photography Museum is curating a photo exhibition in Brussels as part of the Greek presidency’s culture agenda across the European Union. The exhibition features 24 images by 24 photographers using the Greek alphabet’s 24 letters.

Some of the words represented by the photographic images, such as Democracy which starts with the letter Δ and Tragedy with the letter T, are almost iconic. Others, that trigger strong emotions in Greeks, like Giorti (Γ), meaning feast, and Xenitia (Ξ), denoting life in a foreign land and feelings of homesickness and uprooting, are not so familiar to the international public. The exhibition’s aim is precisely that: to help the viewer understand Greek identity through images reflecting essential cultural traits.

A as in Alpha

Some photos/words have been chosen to represent noble concepts like Agon, meaning contest and competition in the spirit of true sportsmanship, while others like Naftilia, meaning shipping, illustrate a legacy that has historically been essential to resourceful survival and development. Rediscovering arts and sciences preceding modern technological advancements, the visitor will come across words and images of scientific disciplines such as cartography (representing the letter X for the Greek charte, meaning map), with pioneer Greek cartographers, whose contribution to mapping the world is not widely known.

All images on display create a chain of associations linking viewers to images of Greece, from its physical and historical landscape to its intellectual and scientific heritage, from the mythical topos of imagination to the modern destination it is today.  

The exhibition opens on 14 May and runs through 30 June. It will be hosted at InfoPoint Europa in Brussels and is placed under the auspices of the European Commission and the Council of the European Union.