In the exhibition ‘Revisiting: Fernweh, or Nostalgia for Unknown Places,’ currently on display in London, Greece is portrayed as a historical continuum- whether as a tourist paradise or as a stop along a long journey toward a better life.
What does Greece represent to foreigners? The birthplace of democracy, a popular summer destination, a stop on the quest for a better life, or a country struggling to live up to its glorious past? And how do we present ourselves? How do others’ perceptions of us become embedded in our own sense of self? Can they affect how our identity is shaped?
The exhibition “Fernweh, or Nostalgia for Unknown Lands,” which inaugurated the Irene Y. Panagopoulos Collection’s exhibition space in Athens in 2025, is now on display at the Hellenic Center in London, marking its first presentation outside Greece with a fresh curatorial perspective.
Now titled “Revisiting: Fernweh, or Nostalgia for Unknown Lands,” the exhibition brings together 17 works by 15 international artists, along with archival objects, to explore the changing images of Greece over time, from the romantic fascination with antiquity to mass tourism and the experience of contemporary migration.
“My collection is focused on contemporary art from the Eastern and Southeastern Mediterranean, the Middle East, North Africa, Turkey and the Balkans, with Greece at its heart,” Panagopoulos said at the opening, explaining the choice of theme.
The exhibition’s curator, Katerina Hadji, said, “I became interested in exploring the different ways foreigners perceive Greece, not just as a geographical or historical location, but also as an idea, a symbol, a projection of desires and expectations.” She added, “I also wanted to examine how we ourselves engage with these images, to what extent we embrace or challenge them, and whether, ultimately, however much we resist, they end up redefining who we are.”
Hadji has chosen to begin the narrative with Count de Choiseul-Gouffier’s illustrated travelogue “Voyage pittoresque de la Grece” (1782-1822). Displayed in a glass case, the publication captures the images of Greece that captivated Europe. According to the curator, these depictions helped shape the idealized vision of Greece and foster the philhellenic movement that supported the country’s struggle for independence.
In contrast to this romanticized view of the country stands Martin Parr’s photograph “Acropolis, Athens, Greece” (1997), presenting the monument as a symbol of mass tourism. Nearly two centuries after the publication of Choiseul-Gouffier’s work, the Acropolis remains a symbol of Greece, but it has also become part of the tourism industry.
The image of Greece as a place of social upheaval offers yet another perspective from the outside. In “Visions of the World (Greece, Summer 2006),” the artist persona Claire Fontaine depicts demonstrations on the streets of Athens, while also commenting on the media’s role in shaping the country’s international image. As Hadji observes, even these images became a tourist attraction. “Exarchia drew visitors eager to experience the ‘anarchist’ neighborhood firsthand.” The same section, which highlights the political and social dimensions of Greek identity, includes two works by Vlassis Caniaris that portray Greece as a place of historical tensions and social contradictions.
A different Greece emerges in Bouchra Khalili’s video “Mapping Journey #8” (2011), in which an immigrant recounts his journey from Sudan to North America, passing through Greece along the way. Here, Athens is not the cradle of Western civilization but a stepping stone toward the prospect of a better life.
The exhibits in the final section focus on antiquity. In his photograph “Acropolis Museum, Athens” (2009), Thomas Struth captures the excavation beneath the museum, focusing on the different layers of history overlapping in the same space and how the past intrudes upon and shapes the present. Meanwhile, Kader Attia, with a figure of an ancient goddess patched together with red thread, and Brice Marden, with small, postcard-like collages depicting Parthenon Sculptures held at the British Museum, revisit the question of ownership of antiquities.
“Ultimately, the works raise a question that concerns not only the ownership of antiquities, but history itself: Who does it belong to, and who has the right to tell its story?” the curator says.
“Revisiting: Fernweh, or Nostalgia for Unknown Lands” runs through November 7, at the Hellenic Center (16-18 Paddington, Marylebone, London), www.helleniccentre.org.
