ΜΥ GRΕΕΚ VΙLLΑGΕ / ΤΟ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΟ ΧΩΡΙΟ ΜΟΥ

My Greek village... ...is a metaphor for an idealised place that embodies much of what we aspire to in life: interpersonal relationships, ­closeness, clarity, reliability, family and identity. ...represents the loss of many values, as we have seen and lamented in our globalised world. ...is an expression of the sorrow we feel when familiar and cherished objects, structures and rituals disappear from our lives. ...sharpens our view of the transience of established struc­tures and gives us hope that we will succeed in handling our cultural heritage in a respectful, protective manner. ...makes us reflect on the most important, authentic values in life, because this Greek village is not just in Greece; it is a place that exists everywhere in our globalised world, a place of longing that needs to be seen and preserved, protected and defended, and a place that exists, above all, in our ­hearts . Martin Breutmann, publisher, fotoforum-Verlag / Edition Bildperlen The village and its residents seem familiar – despite never ­providing a glimpse into the privacy of their homes. This is what makes photographer Wolfgang Bernauer’s work so compelling. Not prosaically distant, yet not intrusively intimate, he succeeds in capturing the authentic ambience of village life . Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung As the images of the people Wolfgang Bernauer has met and photographed in such a perceptive way pass before your eyes on reading My Greek Village, you cannot help but think that it is probably the unadulterated souls of ordinary people, captured in their authenticity by the clear gaze of an ‘outsider’, that fascinated him – and everyone who picks up this book. Bernauer’s photography contributes to the preservation not only of memories, but also the composition of the Greek village itself. And reminds us that we should preserve what our elders have left us as part of our cultural heritage. Not just Greek heritage, but global heritage . Katerina Lymperopoulou, journalist, writer.