PRESS RELEASE
Diocese of the Armenian Church of Australia & New Zealand
10 Macquarie Street
Chatswood NSW 2067
AUSTRALIA
Contact: Laura Artinian
Tel: (02) 9419-8056
Fax: (02) 9904-8446
Email: [email protected]
7 June 2006
ARMENIAN ALPHABET INSPIRES AN ARTIST’S EXHIBITION
Melbourne, Australia – Artist, Elefteria Vlavianos launched her exhibition
entitled “Metaphor for Longing” at the Town Hall Gallery in Boroonda, dubbed
the City of Harmony on Thursday, 1st June. At the personal invitation of
the artist, His Eminence Archbishop Aghan Baliozian, Primate of the Diocese
of the Armenian Church of Australia and New Zealand attended opening night.
“Metaphor for Longing” exhibits paintings inspired from the Armenian
Alphabet and 11th century manuscript paintings. Elefteria, or Ria for short,
probes into the heritage of her Armenian mother using Armenian script as
subject matter in conceptualising her birthright and identity. Born to a
Greek father and Armenian mother, Ria grew up in South Africa. The idea for
this exhibition was conceived from early childhood memories of her maternal
grandmother creating beautiful, delicate lace pieces using a unique
needlecraft skill. Acting as the catalyst in the search for her Armenian
roots, Ria approached Archbishop Baliozian for assistance and inspiration as
she embarked on her journey, also receiving support from staff of the
Armenian Community Welfare Centre which she acknowledged in her welcome
speech on opening night.
Ria’s artistic style and creativity in this exhibition is reflected in a
unique genre of painting that is an interplay of marks and stroke patterns
through layers of washes and glazes. To describe the essence of the
exhibit, “the series of works explores the connections and association
between culturally displaced individuals and their communities as they
access, inherit and pass on objects and imagery from the past.”
“Metaphor for Longing” will be on display at the Town Hall Gallery until
24th June, 2006. For details contact the Gallery on (03) 9278-4626.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
