Key works by one of Australia’s leading portrait and documentary photographers are coming to Melbourne for the summer, in the latest exhibition presented by the Hellenic Museum.
Opening to the public on Saturday 4 November, Viewfinder: Effy Alexakis is a curated survey of Alexakis’ 40-year career, exploring the themes that have underpinned her personal and professional journey to understand and chronicle the Greek Australian experience.
Set in the Museum’s intimate Contemporary Art Space, Viewfinder will feature over 30 works accompanied by rich backstories from the photographer and her subjects.
Curated in four parts, the exhibition traces the milestones of Alexakis’ career and delves into the nuances of Greek Australian identity interrogated within her works – including 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 heart warming philanthropy it inspired.
Alexakis’ work is exemplary of the black-and-white documentary photography tradition, and is particularly renowned for the dignity and complexity of its subjects. 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.
By capturing moments in time and rooting them in a sociocultural context that reaches far beyond the edges of her viewfinder, Alexakis’ work challenges the photographic medium. Though still, her images are far from static – just like the vibrant and evolving community they document.
Viewfinder: Effy Alexakis will be open to the public from Saturday 4 November 2023 — late
February 2024, with entry included in Hellenic Museum general admission. Visit the website
for more information and to plan your visit: hellenic.org.au/exhibitions/viewfinder.
This exhibition has been supported by the City of Melbourne Arts Grants, and Exhibition Media Partner The Greek Herald.
