Effy Alexakis and Yanni Dramitinos are holding a photographic exhibition as part of the 2024 Greek Festival of Sydney – 'Face Off: Portraits'. This exhibition will open to the public at Luna Studio Art Gallery, Newtown on Wednesday 6 March.
An official launch will take place on Saturday 9 March @ 6pm. The special guest speaker invited to formally launch the exhibition is Rhonda Davis, Senior Curator, Macquarie University Art Gallery. All are welcome.
Alexakis and Dramitinos, expose not only their subjects, but also themselves and
the preconceived ideas of viewers in stunning portraits of the celebrated, the
familiar and the previously unknown – the psychological interplay between
photographer, subject and viewer is inescapable.
Capturing the humour,determination, sadness, tragedy, success, the lived experiences of their subjects, Alexakis and Dramitinos bring their personal interpretive eye into play and in so doing, confront both their subjects and those viewing the portraits to contemplate their sense of ‘self’. Australians from various walks of life – artists, writers, actors, labourers, business people, retirees – from a mix of cultural and cross-cultural backgrounds, including of course, Greek Australians, are observed and exposed with insightful sensitivity, respect, understanding and humility.
Well known in their chosen visual field, the respective reputations of both photographers have been developed amongst, through, and with the Greek- Australian community on multiple levels. This exhibition showcases their portraits of Australians, identifying both photographers as skilful exponents of the portrait as narrative: Greek-Australians are presented as significant contributors within the mosaic of the diverse faces of the nation’s peoples.
