Visual Memory and Identity: A Case Study of the Greek-Speaking Refugees from Sinasos, Anatolia
Visual Memory and Identity: A Case Study of the Greek-Speaking Refugees from Sinasos, Anatolia

Summary/Abstract: Within the context of the ‘visual turn’ images can no longer be considered as neutral artefacts but as social constructs, closely connected with specific ‘regimes of truth’. As an integral part of ‘visual ideologies’, they function as ‘condensation symbols’ and ‘ideological markers,’ that could either support or question dominant narratives. Furthermore, in the case of refugee populations, images from the lost home/homeland, often but not exclusively combined with a discourse about loss, may have a significant impact on the construction of the group’s ‘cultural memory’ and, ultimately, on the formation of their identities. These issues are addressed through the example of the Greek-speaking refugees from Sinasos, Anatolia, who were forced to flee their homeland in 1924 under the Lausanne Treaty for the Compulsory Exchange of Populations between Greece and Turkey. Before leaving, they organized a photo shoot of their hometown by two amateur photographers. Analysing the album that resulted from this endeavour, in combination with written sources and oral interviews, this article explores the socio-historical contexts of production of these images along with all their subsequent conceptualizations and uses from 1924 until the present day. As it turned out, these photos had an immense impact in shaping the collective memory of both the refugees from Sinasos and their descendants.

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