It all started five years ago in a meeting of devoted Greek Australian Cultural League members, where the concept of Antipodean Palette was birthed.
Recognising a growing number of professional artists within the Greek community, they set out to create a welcoming environment and platform for the masterpieces and creators behind them.
The art coordinator of the exhibition, Vasy Petros, has witnessed the event grow from strength to strength, exceeding expectations every year.
“Over the past five years, the exhibition has grown in popularity to become a major annual art event in the Greek community. It has evolved into a 10-day celebration of art, with contributions from many writers, poets and musicians – so it is very much a cultural event as well,” Ms Petros tells Neos Kosmos.
The only group exhibition inviting Greek Australian artists nationwide to exhibit their work, in this year’s exhibition, 14 solo artists are taking part, including a first-time interstate representative, Masonik from Western Australia.
“Antipodean Palette offers Greek Australian artists an excellent opportunity to meet one another as a collective group and introduce their work to the wider public. It helps open discussion and stimulates public interest in the visual arts by highlighting the wonderful talent that exists in the community.
“It is also an ideal platform to encourage and showcase work by young, new, emerging artists as well,” says Ms Petros.
Open to all practising artists with specialist training in their field, or to those with a history of professional public presentation, the aim is to display an interesting and unique body of work, inclusive of a variety of artistic mediums – hence, the name ‘Palette’.
Selected works range from acrylic and oil, illustrations, mixed media 3D installations and sculptural works, collage, printing, risograph and copper-etch, photography, as well as silvercraft; while the subject matters are just as varied.
“There is no general theme as such. Some works are historical and cultural in nature, some involve age-old skills such as silver casting and copper plate printing. Others show experimentation with mixed media and new forms of medium such as resin,” explains the art coordinator.
Agi Argyropoulos will once again be exhibiting his work at this year’s event, which he says has been an invaluable opportunity.
“Participating in this initiative has given me a vehicle to showcase my paintings which are but a small part of my artistic endeavours,” says Agi.
Working with graphic design, illustration, photography and pyrography amongst other mediums, the exhibition embraced his artistic diversity.
His entries, Enas Mangas Hasiklis and Enas Levendis Esvise, named after two songs of the rebetika genre, were painted specifically for the exhibition and deal with the existential subject of death.
Although he says he recognises the ‘Greekness’ aspect of the event, for the artist, Antipodean Palette is far more than that, and a project of interest for all Australians.
“I think that such a platform is very important for all artists. I consider myself to be part and parcel of the broader Australian society. I do not want to be pigeon-holed as an ‘ethnic’ artist with all its negative connotations and implications,” he explains.
Artist and stonemason Christos Avramoudas started his relationship with Antipodean Palette in 2014 when he was alerted to the upcoming exhibition by his wife.
Having migrated to Australia in 1999, being granted the opportunity to showcase his work stretches back to his beginnings in the art world in the late ’80s.
“As an art student in Greece, I was part of a group of young artists who believed in art as a non-commercial/consumerist way of living and more as a way of finding truth and the possibility of personal improvement.
“Arte povera (‘poor art’) was a huge Italian avant-garde movement of the ’70s. They rejected the opposition between the artist as an active creator and the viewer as a passive recipient of art. We took on board the suggestion from them that the audience’s active engagement with the work is an integral part of the artistic process.
“So after all these years, being part of an exhibition in Melbourne, and asking the audience to participate, is like adapting my initial intent to a new situation, a new landscape,” Christos explains.
Along with arte povera, the artist is heavily influenced by dadaism, conceptual art and fluxus amongst others, to challenge the traditional notion of the definition of art.
Rather than only approaching it from an aesthetic perspective, he sees it as a way of enabling knowledge to be communicated, which has been well-received amongst Antipodean Palette goers.
“Last year’s response from the audience didn’t leave any doubt in my mind that this is a positive environment for me to situate myself in. There was an overwhelmingly active involvement with my work that continues to give me inspiration,” he explains.
Christos’ entry this year, entitled 2 ΒΟΛΕ 2 0 ΒΕΓΟΜ is a piece of art that he says does not adhere to traditional standards.
For the artist, his work has a deeper philosophical connection, referring to psychotherapist Carl Jung and the ritualistic mandala.
“As a device, it (art) tries to capture the totality of the self, it is developing day by day in a non-authoritarian or totalitarian sense; it is growing by discord and consists of elements in a very disordered state … The central point here is the ’empty’ space between the top of the pyramid and the low point of the plumb-line. This point, it seems to me, has a certain magnitude incomprehensible by thought.
“The reason that this mandala is on display is my strong feeling and hope that with the help of the audience, and through some kind of collective conceptual current that will flow from the low point of the plumb-line to the pin point of the pen that is available next to a piece of paper, a text is created that is liberating and unifying of the whole process,” Christos explains.
Though each artist approaches the exhibition in a different way; for some it has a personal connection to their cultural roots.
When Anne Warren, nee Sampsonidis, was approached by Ms Petros to partake in Antipodean Palette, she was thrilled.
Not only did the event grant her the opportunity to share her art, but a chance to maintain her connection with the Greek Australian community.
“I have found as an adult that I have had less and less contact with Greek people, and the opportunity to connect with others of the same ethnic background, who also have the same dedication to art, is a wonderful opportunity,” Anne explains.
Working out of her Alphington studio, Anne’s art practice consists of collage, assemblage, digital imaging, still-life painting and abstract works.
“The use of hybrid themes in my collage work is sometimes the way I feel about myself, Greek, Australian, blended, a new creation. It is possible that other Greek Australian artists feel the same way,” she says.
Approaching her art in what she refers to as an “intuitive way”, she sources images from old books, building upon them with layers from several sources, including media, sometimes adding to it with illustrations.
For her entry this year, she has included works from a series entitled ‘Leggy Flowers’.
“The work is whimsical fun collage and a little bit of drawing with inspiration from my mother’s favourite flower, the dahlia. I think most Greek gardeners grew a beautiful big fat dahlia orb.”
In addition to the aforementioned artists, taking part in this year’s Antipodean Palette are Constantinos Emmanuelle, Thalia Andrews, Soula Mantalvanos, Mary Raphael, Frixos Ioannides, Tony Pierrakos, James Raftopoulos, Effie Mandalos, Sofronis Michaelides, Angy Labiris and Jenny Dumont.
For the first time this year, organisers opened submissions to the public and were swamped with applications, making the selection process difficult.
“There were some great works, and it was so hard to say no because of the limited space that we have,” says Ms Petros.
Looking back on the initial vision of the event, the art coordinator – an artist herself – can only boast of how far they have come.
“I am proud to be involved in such an organisation promoting this very worthwhile event. It has been a great experience meeting artists and working alongside passionate committee members.
“We currently have a growing list of Greek Australian artists who have participated in the past and hopefully this will become a valuable resource the public can refer to,” she says.
This year’s exhibition will be launched by the Minister for Creative Industries Martin Foley MP, along with Greek Consul General Christina Simantiraki.
An afternoon of bilingual poetry readings will also be taking place as part of the event on Sunday 16 August at 4.00 pm.
Antipodean Palette will be housed at Steps Gallery, 62 Lygon Street, Carlton from 13-23 August, 2015. Professional and emerging artists interested in taking part in next year’s Antipodean Palette can do so by visiting the GACL website www.gacl.com.au