Polixeni Papapetrou was an Australian photographer noted for her themed photo series about people's identities.
19 Facts About Polixeni Papapetrou
1.
2.
Polixeni Papapetrou attended the University of Melbourne, graduating with a degree in Arts and Law in 1984.
3.
Polixeni Papapetrou worked as a lawyer between 1985 and 2001.
4.
Between 1987 and 2005 Polixeni Papapetrou photographed Elvis Presley fans and impersonators paying homage to Elvis Presley on the anniversary of his death at the Melbourne General Cemetery.
5.
Polixeni Papapetrou photographed drag queens at the then Trish's nightclub in North Melbourne and at the Annual Miss Alternative World Ball held at the San Remo Ball room, Melbourne.
6.
Between 1995 and 2002, Polixeni Papapetrou was interested in constructions of identity based on body and dress and explored this theme with images of drag queens and body builders.
7.
Polixeni Papapetrou placed images of body builders against images of neo-classical architecture to make the connection between Classical Greek notions of the ideal body and architecture.
8.
In 2002, Polixeni Papapetrou began to explore the representation of childhood identity.
9.
Polixeni Papapetrou has commented that in photographing children she is exploring the condition of childhood in its various guises.
10.
Polixeni Papapetrou is interested in the transformative and performative function of the mask and how it can move both the subject and photograph from the 'real' to the 'imaginary'.
11.
In staging the photographs for Wonderland, Polixeni Papapetrou borrowed from the tradition of theatre and used scenic backdrops based on the illustrations that appeared in the original publication of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland made by Sir John Tenniel.
12.
In 2006, Polixeni Papapetrou moved her work from the realm of fantasy into the natural world.
13.
Polixeni Papapetrou wanted her photographs of children to move beyond the recognized identity of the subject so she could speak in a more universal way about childhood.
14.
Polixeni Papapetrou exhibited Between Worlds and The Ghilies at Jenkins Johnson Gallery, New York.
15.
In Lost Psyche Polixeni Papapetrou evokes a lost past of symbolic roles that are at the end of their place in history.
16.
Polixeni Papapetrou came under fire from the then Australian Prime Minister of Australia Kevin Rudd who said that he "couldn't stand this sort of stuff", referring to the photograph of the naked Olympia.
17.
Polixeni Papapetrou recovered and was given the all-clear, but relapsed five years later.
18.
Polixeni Papapetrou survived for more than five years, and died in April 2018, aged 57.
19.
Survey exhibitions of Polixeni Papapetrou's work were shown at the Australian Centre for Photography, Sydney in 2011 and the Centre for Contemporary Photography Melbourne in 2013 in the exhibition, 'A Performative Paradox'.