Eirini Vourloumis : In Waiting

The Greek documentary photographer portrays her hometown of Athens

The financial crisis currently shaking Greece is palpable particularly in its capital Athens, the once proud polis. During her forays through public and private spaces, Eirini Vourloumis pursued the question of how a cultural identity manifests itself for which tomorrow is completely uncertain. The documentary photographer, who otherwise works for news agents such as The New York Times and Le Monde, observed a persistence of customary structures, an almost antiquated idealization of tradition. Vourloumis presents strange and somewhat comical photographs, such as one depicting the cafeteria of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in which a Christmas stocking dangles from a plaid curtain, or the picture of the shiny shoes of tax man, for instance, or the sad image of a section of the Library of Science and Technology, which no longer contains a single book. A special aesthetic and atmosphere permeates the sites that Vourloumis has captured—who knows how long they will continue to exist.