Viewfinder: Effy Alexakis

Effy Alexakis is one of the nation’s leading portrait and documentary photographers. A chronicler of the Greek-Australian experience since the early 1980s, her work is renowned for the dignity and complexity of its subjects, and for creating a holistic representation of humanity that spans geographies and generations.

Viewfinder: Effy Alexakis is a survey of the artist’s 40-year-long practice and the themes that have underpinned her personal and professional journey to understanding her heritage. Each image delves into the nuances of the Greek-Australian identity, sharing stories of self-determination; the physical and emotional liminal spaces of the migrant experience; unity through difference in a country of meshed diasporas; the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic within the community; and the heartwarming philanthropy it inspired.

By capturing moments in time and rooting them in a sociocultural context that reaches far beyond the edges of her viewfinder, Effy’s work challenges the photographic medium. Though still, her images are far from static – just like the vibrant and evolving community they document.