Adonis Christoforou. Photographic evidence from the recent history of Cyprus

The Press and Information Office is a government department that engages in activities covering a broad span from creation, communication, politics and diplomacy to information, awareness, society, the mass media, the Press and technology. Nevertheless, the most significant task assigned to the Press and Information Office is to put together a record of our History, not only to preserve our cultural identity and collective memory but also to become the thread that ties the past to the present and the future of our land and its people. Nothing can record history better than a photograph. Photography is the only art that can lend a tinge of eternity to an otherwise fleeting moment. Only a photograph can accurately capture a slice of reality available for reinterpretation; after all, each photograph by definition entails at least two persons: the photographer and the beholder. From the place of the beholder, I extend my thanks to Adonis Christoforou for using his work to make us recognize our own selves as separate entities as well as bearers of a specific historicity and national identity. He invites us to acknowledge our collective memory, to firmly trace our historical and cultural lineage to the Greek and European ideals. I extend congratulations to our associate, Adonis Christoforou, for being an excellent ambassador of the culture and civilization of this island and for making his mark on the safekeeping, promotion and creation of History and Culture. French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson said that “to photograph is to put on the same line of sight the head, the eye and the heart”. I am truly happy that the first instalment of the “Photo Book” series launched by the Press and Information Office showcases the work of Adonis Christoforou; his very soul has been incorporated into the alignment of head, eye and heart. Sophia A. Michaelides PIO Director 3 Foreword by the Director of the Press and Information Office