The Wave counter
Polixeni Papapetrou
(2011)
Pigment ink print
105 cm x 105 cm
(image from Polixeni Papapetrou's Website)
105 cm x 105 cm
I found this quote by Papapetrou regarding her work on child photography, which I find to be quintessential to understanding her work:
"I started making pictures about childhood because I wanted to express ideas about our culture that are best portrayed through the symbol of the child, but more importantly, I am fascinated by the world of childhood. I am conscious that my work on the one hand, takes the viewer into the realms of fantasy and story telling, but on the other hand, it challenges our expectations regarding the portrayal of childhood in photography" (NYMPHOTO, 2008)
In this piece, the child’s face is covered, wearing a mask too large for his or her head that gives them the appearance of an aging man. The walker, and the posture of the child, seemingly leaning into the wind that blows their clothes to the right, gives me this sensation of the child being far away in thought. It feels as though the child has stepped into the shows of the adult world, and is looking afar to the worlds that are so separated by time. The body of the figure is essential to the photograph; the small frame of the child which is leaning forward into the wind, but also almost taking in the posture of a crippling adult, reminds the viewer of the separation between the worlds of adulthood and childhood. Although at the same time, it seems that the costume gives the child the ability to waver between adult and child worlds. It reminds me of the work above by Anna Gaskell, in that the child appears to be living between realities, fluidly coming back and forth. I like that the photograph challenges these well-known ideals of childhood, being that the almost worldwide cultural idea of childhood includes the innocence and naivety of childhood. This child blows that out image out of the water, appearing thoughtful and pensive in this world of adultness.
"I started making pictures about childhood because I wanted to express ideas about our culture that are best portrayed through the symbol of the child, but more importantly, I am fascinated by the world of childhood. I am conscious that my work on the one hand, takes the viewer into the realms of fantasy and story telling, but on the other hand, it challenges our expectations regarding the portrayal of childhood in photography" (NYMPHOTO, 2008)
In this piece, the child’s face is covered, wearing a mask too large for his or her head that gives them the appearance of an aging man. The walker, and the posture of the child, seemingly leaning into the wind that blows their clothes to the right, gives me this sensation of the child being far away in thought. It feels as though the child has stepped into the shows of the adult world, and is looking afar to the worlds that are so separated by time. The body of the figure is essential to the photograph; the small frame of the child which is leaning forward into the wind, but also almost taking in the posture of a crippling adult, reminds the viewer of the separation between the worlds of adulthood and childhood. Although at the same time, it seems that the costume gives the child the ability to waver between adult and child worlds. It reminds me of the work above by Anna Gaskell, in that the child appears to be living between realities, fluidly coming back and forth. I like that the photograph challenges these well-known ideals of childhood, being that the almost worldwide cultural idea of childhood includes the innocence and naivety of childhood. This child blows that out image out of the water, appearing thoughtful and pensive in this world of adultness.
Artist Biography: Foley Gallery
Exhibitions: Polixeni Papapetrou's Website, 2011 Tales from Elsewhere, Australian Centre for Photography, Sydney
References: NYMPHOTO (2008)
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