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Polixeni Papapetrou

In Conversation With Natalie King

Natalie King
Eyeline 80
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Polixeni Papapetrou flexes the camera’s hold on her subjects: her children, their friends and the Australian landscape. Whether embedded in rural settings, disguised by masks and costumes or embellished with accoutrements, she is a masterful narrator. These carefully arranged scenarios are tales without endings; stills from a lifelong inquiry into our relationship with each other, with ourselves and our context. Intimate and poignant, each vignette has a taut composition that tells stories of love and loss.

Over three filmed sessions at the end of 2012, Polixeni Papapetrou was interviewed by Natalie King and filmed by Roy Chu in her home-studio in Melbourne. This is an extended extract of these candid and revealing conversations, augmented by further reflexion by the artist.

Natalie King: Initially you trained as a lawyer and then became a practicing photographer. Can you tell me about the early transition from a very different field?

 

Polixeni Papapetrou: At school I focused on academic subjects rather than art, as my ambition was to study law at Melbourne University. During my time at university, I was approached on the street by the artist John Money who wanted to paint my portrait. In his studio, I saw a copy of Diane Arbus’s monograph with Identical Twins, Roselle, New Jersey (1967) on the cover. This book intrigued me because I identified with the outsider people she photographed, but I also wanted access to these people. It was this moment and book that introduced me to the idea of photography as an art form.

While working as a lawyer, I bought a camera and started taking pictures of people who could have belonged in Diane Arbus’s photographs. I began by... The rest of this article is available to subscribers of Eyeline

Study for Hattah Man and Hattah Woman, 2013. From The Ghillies. Pigment ink print, 70 x 105cm. Edition of 8. Courtesy the artist.

Study for Hattah Man and Hattah Woman, 2013. From The Ghillies. Pigment ink print, 70 x 105cm. Edition of 8. Courtesy the artist.

Salt Man, 2013. From The Ghillies. Pigment ink on print, 120 x 120cm. Edition of 8 + 1 unique print at 150 x 150cm. Courtesy the artist.

Salt Man, 2013. From The Ghillies. Pigment ink on print, 120 x 120cm. Edition of 8 + 1 unique print at 150 x 150cm. Courtesy the artist.