The culmination of 2 years of work by Sydney visual artist, Eleni Nakopoulos, her highly anticipated second solo exhibition, ‘life captured’ opens at Sydney’s Danks Street gallery in March for a limited time.
Nakopoulos’ motivation for this new body of work was inspired by a visit to the zoo, which provoked an ethical question that is necessary and troubling. In an age where, we are seeing the destruction of so many species, through poaching and de-forestation, it seems ironic that what is naturally wild and free, may only survive in a caged or controlled environment. In this series she questions whether there could be another way.
These new paintings reveal sinewy lines in vibrant colour, that twist and turn across the surface of shimmering tapestry-like images, creating an intriguing optical play between the subject and its environment. Refocus and suddenly, a wild cat is seen ready to pounce. Look again and you see the evidence of its captivity. In another, the vibrant coloured lines reveal a form more sinister; the confronting face of a monkey behind bars.
Her first solo exhibition, just add water opened in 2010 and was quickly followed with a nomination as a finalist in The Mosman Art Prize (2012) before another solo exhibition of past works in 2013.
After graduating from the South Australian School of Art, Nakopoulos became, not only an internationally award winning art director, but one of only a few female creative directors ever appointed to a major Australian advertising agency. At the peak of her career, realising her heart remained with the fine arts, she redirected her creative passion, transferring the same intensity and commitment she had applied to her professional life, to painting.
In the last 15 years, Nakopoulos has produced a number of discrete bodies of work, each series a marked departure from the one prior. Her self-imposed objective was not merely to paint, but to pursue the critical introspection required to develop an individual artistic voice; to present ‘a unique way of seeing.’
Strongly influenced by the electronic medium and a desire to express the essence of her subject in an immediate way, Nakopoulos has also maintained an ongoing exploration into the use of line and colour to create form. In this new series of works, ‘life captured’, she has produced yet another distinctive mode of expression, melding these interests and objectives into works of maturity, confidence and insight.
life captured
The Depot Gallery II, 2 Danks Street, Waterloo (Sydney)
Exhibition: 4 – 15 March 2014
Free entry
For more information, visit: www.eleninakopoulos.com.au for details.
Image: giraffe, © Eleni Nakopoulos