cyprus art news - 421 - Photo exhibition The World of Cyprus in the Passage of Time by Renos Wideson

Heidi Trautmann

421 - Photo exhibition The World of Cyprus in the Passage of Time by Renos Wideson
11/6/2012

A contemporary and colleague of Lawrence Durrell By Heidi Trautmann Crossing over to the South of Nicosia via the Lokmaci Gate into the busy Ledra Street you will find on your immediate right hand side the Peace Hall, information centre and exhibition venue for many bi-communal exhibitions and events. Panicos Chrysanthou, the creator of the film ‘Akamas’ has organized the photo show by the reknown photographer. It will be on display until the end of November. Here, a short biography: Renos Evryviades Wideson was born in Larnaca, Cyprus in 1920. His interest in photography was sparked by a Kodak ‘Box Brownie’ camera which his father gave him as a boy and this interest was to become a life-long passion. His early working life as Village Roads Paymaster and later as Assistant District Inspector involved travelling widely throughout the Larnaca District and from this grew his parallel passion for the landscape and people of his homeland. After service in the Cyprus Volunteer Force and later the Cyprus Regiment, he relinquished his commission as Major in 1949 to take up an appointment as Hotels’ Inspector with the Cyprus Tourist Office. He eventually headed the Cyprus Tourist Development Office under Lawrence Durrell who was then in charge of the Public Information Office. A large element of his work involved promoting Cyprus and this gave him the opportunity to visit and photograph many remote and isolated rural corners of the island. He was able to indulge his ‘passions’ to good effect. It was during this period that the majority of the pictures in his books were taken. In 1956 he joined the then newly created Television Department of the Cyprus Broadcasting Service and headed a small film unit which produced a number of documentary features illustrating aspects of the island’s life. He emigrated to the UK in 1959 with his wife and two sons, where he took up a position at the Ealing Film studios of the BBC. He was appointed Head of Film Operations in 1975. He retired in 1977 and lived in Buckinghamshire. A photo exhibition showing Cyprus in the middle of last century beautiful and touching.