Polixeni Papapetrou's relationship with identity and its role in society, perceived or otherwise, has always been of pivotal importance to her photography. Her earliest works present identity by focussing on the ‘other’, be they drag queens or Elvis Presley fans.
In her later works, Papapetrou is not alone in her commentary on the reactionary control of children’s movements following the disappearance of the Beaumonts in 1966, and hence, the loss of their identity. This anxiety is increasingly manifest in the art world, for instance in the privacy laws regarding the photography of children.
Somewhat surprisingly, therefore, The Loners (pictured left), presents childhood identity as a forgotten quality not as a controlled one – the geriatric rabbits accept the unassertive role that society has resigned them to. The Harvesters presents children as the 'other' – a faceless child-animal hybrid – in a similar way to the influential Des glaneuses by Millet, implying that this 'other' is more natural in its devotion to the land. Her composition differs from Millet’s in that the figures don’t coalesce into the landscape and hence that children are Between Worlds.
Such insightful works, as Polixeni Papapetrou’s, stimulate an enormous amount of conjecture; for this reason it was a wonderful experience to be able to gain an understanding of one of Australia’s most cognisant artists’ inspiration and reasoning direct from the source.
