Opening Saturday 7 November 2026
Inspired by the Bronze Age marble figurines carved across the ancient Cycladic islands, this exhibition of new and existing works by Greek-Australian artist Efrossini Chaniotis reinterprets their form, function and appearance to create new objects of personal resonance, storytelling and meaning-making. Born from a period of personal transition and made in honour of her parents and Aegean ancestors, her figures act as votive offerings, carriers of memory, guardians, and symbolic companions through grief, renewal, and cultural continuity.
Chaniotis' practice draws on multiple influences. Beginning with forms inspired by the original figures, she echoes their original painted surfaces with her own symbols, marks and colours drawn from Hellenistic tradition and Byzantine iconography, as well as portraiture and modern avant-garde forms, merging and adapting them through a process of play and creative exploration.
What emerges are sculptural works that transform ancient forms into contemporary totems, to ultimately affirm that the power of art remains a personal ritual.
Open daily from Saturday 7 November 2026 — Sunday 28 February 2027, included with Museum general entry.
Efrossini Chaniotis is a Greek-Australian painter and sculptor with a passion for exploring storytelling through art.
Her fascination with visual art began in early childhood. She recalls being transported to magical worlds while listening to fairy tales told under an olive tree on Corfu and quietly observing a family friend in Adelaide painting horses in his shed. These experiences instilled an early sense of wonder and revealed the freedom of expression inherent in the visual arts, shaping her path toward fine arts and a lifelong commitment to creative exploration.
She studied Sculpture at the South Australian School of Art before completing a second Fine Arts Degree at the Athens School of Fine Art, majoring in Painting. Efrossini has completed a Masters in Art Therapy at LaTrobe University and has concurrently worked with both art exhibitions and helped to establish the Melbourne Art Therapy School at the Abbotsford Convent.
Efrossini has been the winner of the Lecturer’s Prize for consecutive years in Athens, and in her third year she was granted a scholarship to study at the Madrid School of Fine Art. More recently, Efrossini was awarded the Gippsland Sculpture Prize among many renowned Australian sculptors.
ABOUT THE ARTIST