Polixeni Papapetrou – Bio

Polixeni Papapetrou creates fantastical worlds that have earned her international acclaim. Transformed with masks and costumes, and set against both real and imagined backdrops, the characters in her images seem to inhabit other times and places. By focusing on the theatricality of childhood, she explores a realm between the real and the imaginary, and reflects on the medium of photography, with its capacity to bridge truth and fiction.

Papapetrou has been the recipient of prestigious grants and awards, including the MAMA Art Foundation National Photography Prize (2016) and the Josephine Ulrick and Win Shubert Photography Award (2009). She has presented over 50 solo exhibitions and has been featured in over 100 group exhibitions in Australia and internationally. These recently include The European Month of Photography, Berlin (2016); The European Month of Photography, Athens (2016); Dong Gang International Photo Festival, Korea (2014); Fotografica Bogota (2013); Photo LA, (2013; 2014); Contemporary Australian Photography, Museum of Photographic Arts, San Diego (2012); 3rd Biennale Photoquai 2011, Paris; New Worlds, Seoul (2011); My Australia, Taipei (2011); Highjacked 2: Australia and Germany (touring 2010-2011); Tales from Elsewhere, Australian Centre for Photography, Sydney (2011) and Month of Photography, Bratislava (2010); 1^st Biennial International Photography Invitational, New Mexico (2010); and Pingyao International Photography Festival, China (2010). Her work is held in private and institutional collections, including the National Gallery of Australia, National Gallery of Victoria, Museum of Contemporary Art, National Library of Australia, MAMA Art Foundation, Monash Gallery of Art, Artbank, Museum of Fine Arts, Florida and Fotomuseo, Bogota.