The Hellenic Museum is set to house its latest exhibition by photographer Effy Alexakis, which explores the themes underpinning her personal and professional journey to understand and chronicle the Greek-Australian experience.
The exhibition titled ‘Viewfinder: Effy Alexakis’ is a curated survey of the photographer’s 40-year career featuring over 30 works accompanied by backstories from her and her subjects.
It is curated in four parts as it traces the milestones of Alexakis’ career and delves into the nuances of Greek-Australian identity interrogated within her works.
These include stories of self-determination, the physical and emotional liminal spaces of the migrant experience, unity through difference in a country of interwoven diasporas, impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in the community and the heartwarming philanthropy it inspired.
The title ‘Viewfinder’ refers to the device on a camera which shows the field of view of the lens.
As such, Alexakis’ work is challenging the static nature of the photographic medium by capturing moments in time and rooting them in a sociocultural context that stretches far beyond the edges of her viewfinder, conveying the vibrant and evolving community they document.
The exhibition will have its official opening in an event on Friday November 3 at 6 pm and will be available for all museum guests to visit from the following day through to late February 2024.
The free event will see speeches given by the Hellenic Museum CEO and Head of Curation, Sarah Craig, the inaugural Hellenic Senior Lecturer in Global Diasporas at University of Melbourne, Dr Andonis Piperoglou, and then by Ms Alexakis herself.
Effy Alexakis’ work, which deals in the black-and-white documentary photography style, is particularly renowned for the dignity and complexity of its subjects as well as creating a holistic representation of humanity that spans geographies and generations.
Her works can be found in major public collections including the National Gallery of Australia, State Library of New South Wales and the Australian Embassy in Athens.
Anyone interested in attending the official opening must rsvp at the Hellenic Museum’s website.