Five Greek-Australian photographers are taking part in an exhibition of their work entitled “ΦΩΤΟΓΡΆΦΟΙ 5 / PHOTOGRAPHERS 5” at the Macquarie University Art Gallery from Monday, 3 May to 18 June.

The exhibition’s curator, Leonard Janiszewski, said the exhibition featured the  works of Effy Alexakis, Marryanne Chistodoulou, Irena Conomos, Yiannis Dramitinos and Tom Psomotragos.

“The five photographers came together in an attempt to get the arts moving again following the erosive hiatus due to COVID-19. The Macquarie Art Gallery loved their ideas and offered them exhibition space.

“Each photographer has a very independent eye that focusses upon a particular aspect of their interpretive world. Collectively, a significant diversity of visions will immerse the viewer within the exhibition space and evoke questions of how they, themselves, perceive the world around them.”

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He said that a special Curator and Artists’ Floor Talk and Informal launch would be held on Friday, 14 May. Group bookings for guided tours were available.

“The curator and photographers will discuss the exhibition and the individual works in detail. More associated events are planned and these will be placed on the gallery’s website” said Mr Janiszewski.

“The Five Greek-Australian photographers draw on and with light reveal truths, often inconvenient discourses, epiphanies of experience and experimentation, and a beguiling diversity of both physical and metaphysical aesthetics to underscore the tangible and intangible of the human condition.”

♦ For more information for events planned around the “ΦΩΤΟΓΡΆΦΟΙ 5 / PHOTOGRAPHERS 5” exhibition visit the art gallery’s website (artgallery.mq.edu.au)

Effy Alexakis, from “Father Nektarios’ Kitchen” series (2021). Artist statement: “As a documentary photographer my intent is to engage the everyday – to seek, explore, reflect, consider, unravel, highlight and embrace what is seen and initially hidden. Father Nektarios’ Kitchen series is a personal insight and a homage to the unselfish kindness expressed by a Greek Orthodox priest and his volunteers in Sydney’s inner-western suburb of Newtown. All who are in need of care and a meal are looked after day after day, with dignity and sensitivity. Nektarios’ initiative is primarily funded through his personal finances.”
Marryanne Christodoulou. “Hydra”, from “2 minutes to midnight” series (2019–2021). Artist statement: “The merging of man-made waste into the natural eco-systems of our planet, has transformed landscapes, infiltrated our bodies and created new, unfamiliar forms. This work seeks to make the unseen seen, and to reflect the increasing indistinguishable boundary between humans and the by-products of neoliberal economies of scale.”
Irena Conomos. “FLAT”, (2021). Artist Statement: “What am I trying to see? Nothing! In both ‘FLAT’ and ‘Pictured’ I have, as far as possible resisted the urge to identify, describe or answer. ‘FLAT’: is a response to the pictorial space of a photograph. ‘Pictured’: is an attempt to remove myself from creating the image as much as possible instead, leaving that to the qualities the camera brings to the image and a chance encounter with the subject. I selected simple camera settings, held the camera at arm’s length, inserted this device into the growth and where auto focus allowed I continued making exposures for a period of time.”
Yiannis Dramitinos. From “Mutton Bird” series, 2021. Artist Statement: “With the series of Mutton Bird photos I try to combine different mythologies. Mythologies have been my gateway to the Australian experience. In a space defined from silence on the one hand and phantasmagoria on the other, the “mutton bird” saw rainbows transform into snakes and indigenous to tame species of the animal kingdom, at a time that they had not yet acquired their Latin name. The bird saw soldiers and settlers, missionaries and adventurers, economic migrants and wanderers inventing a new country. Accompanied by the ‘mutton bird’, I talked to living and dead that I arbitrarily chose as navigators in Australian historical time.”