Burwood artist features at Deakin University Art Gallery

A new exhibition at Deakin University Art Gallery from 28 October showcases the work of Burwood artist Peter Lyssiotis and offers a chance to pause and slow down the frantic pace of photography in the modern era.

Titled WHERE ARE THE ORIGINALS? Once were photographs…, the exhibition is based on two series of works by Lyssiotis, Men of Flowers and … & Now?, and includes prints, collages and artist books from the University’s art collection and the artist’s private collection. 

The works on display look at the challenge of making visible that which the initial photographer has not foreseen, revealing, in the process, what was hidden in the original, with a view, always, to reach for those unexpected levels of poetry and, perhaps, humour. 

Leanne Willis, Deakin University Art Gallery Manager and Curator of the exhibition, explained that the exhibition gives a different slant on modern life lived through a lens.

“Too often these days, we see events and life through the lens of camera, most commonly a phone camera, as a result we miss experiencing the original and often lose our vision and memory of what actually happened before our eyes,” said Ms Willis.

“Lyssiotis’ process of scratching, erasing, sanding and over drawing an existing image is a way of drawing those photographs, which have been made and already reproduced, back to their essence - light.

“The immediacy of photography goes arm-in-arm with the meditative nature of drawing.”

Ms Willis commented that Humphrey McQueen perfectly describes this process in the accompanying catalogue essay.

“McQueen says ‘By disturbing the conventions of not-looking, Peter Lyssiotis’ suites of faces, figures and flowers challenge us to lift the stones from our eyes. All artworks invite us to look but, more than many, Peter’s photomontages and re-workings stimulate us to reflect on how we might do so more effectively.’”

Key Dates

WHERE ARE THE ORIGINALS? Once were photographs…
Dates: 28 October – 11 December
Location: Deakin University Art Gallery, Burwood Campus, 221 Burwood Highway
Hours: Tuesday to Friday, 10am to 4pm.
Cost: Free entry

Opening Function and Free Floor Talk
Join the artist, Peter Lyssiotis, and exhibition curator, Leanne Willis, for a free exhibition floor talk in the exhibition space ahead of the official opening.
Date: Wednesday 28 October
Time: 5.30pm (Floor Talk) & 6pm (Official Opening)
Location: Deakin University Art Gallery, Burwood Campus, 221 Burwood Highway
RSVP: (03) 9244 5344 or artgallery@deakin.edu.au


About the Artist
Peter Lyssiotis is a photomonteur, film maker, writer, photographer and book artist. He has exhibited widely in both solo and group shows. His work is in private collections, State Libraries and State Galleries throughout Australia. He has completed a variety of small press books and limited edition artist’s books. Lyssiotis has also collaborated with other artists on books and his film work The Occupant (with Michael Karis and Ettore Siracussa), the video Thug (with Christos Tsiolkas and Spiro Economopoulos), and the DVD The Ifs of Language (with Michael Karis) have been screened extensively.