Polixeni Papapetrou
| Polixeni Papapetrou | |
|---|---|
| Born |
21 November 1960 Melbourne |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Education |
|
| Alma mater | University of Melbourne |
| Known for | Photography |
| Notable work |
|
| Style | Photography, painting, scenic backdrops, landscape, childhood |
| Spouse(s) | Robert Nelson, Art critic, The Age |
| Awards | Windsor Art Prize 2015 Josephine Ulrick & Win Schubert Photography Award 2009 |
| Website | polixenipapapetrou |
| Elected | Centre for Contemporary Photography, Melbourne, Board of Management 1985-2003 |
Polixeni Papapetrou (born 1960) is a photographer from Melbourne, Australia noted for her themed photo series about people's identities. Photo series she has made include Elvis Presley fans, Marilyn Monroe impersonators, drag queens, wrestlers and bodybuilders and the recreation of a photograph of Beatrice Hatch made by Lewis Carroll using her daughter as a model.
Papapetrou was born in 1960 into a Greek immigrant family in Melbourne. She attended the University of Melbourne, graduating with a degree in Arts and Law in 1984. In 1997 she graduated with a Master of Arts degree from RMIT University and with a PhD from Monash University in 2007. She worked as a lawyer between 1985 and 2001. Papapetrou began taking photographs as early as 1987, and in her early years, she focused on cultural identity, photographing subcultures including Elvis Presley fans and impersonators, Marilyn Monroe impersonators, drag queens, body builders, circus performers and wrestlers. More recently she has focused on the representation of childhood in photography.
Addressing issues of identity, representation and childhood, Papapetrou uses photography, scenic backdrops, landscape, costumes and masks in her work. The main protagonists in her work have been her two children Olympia Nelson (b 1997) and Solomon Nelson (b 1999).
Although known for her work about childhood identity, Papapetrou has explored other representations of identity. Between 1987 and 2005 Papapetrou photographed Elvis Presley fans and impersonators paying homage to Elvis Presley on the anniversary of his death at the Melbourne General Cemetery. The series, Elvis Immortal, made between 1987 and 2002, portrays Elvis Presley fans paying homage to Elvis on the anniversary of his death. Elvis Immortal was exhibited at the State Library of Victoria (1991), Bendigo Art Gallery, Victoria (1997), Old Treasury, Melbourne (1998), Nellie Castan Gallery, Melbourne (2006) and RMIT Gallery, Melbourne (2007). Her interest in Elvis Presley extended to Marilyn Monroe, a classic female icon that was as influential as Elvis Presley. She made the series Searching for Marilyn (2002). Rather than photograph fans and devotees as in Elvis Immortal, she explored ideas about Marilyn Monroe as a Hollywood creation, existing only as a constructed identity and someone whose identity was constantly changing depending on what was expected of her. Searching for Marilyn was first shown at Monash Gallery of Art (2002) and Nellie Castan Gallery (2006).
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