My resized Image

Past Recipients

Past Recipients

Hall of Mirrors: Anne Zahalka Portraits 1987-2007

View this exhibition

Along with creating exhibitions, NETS Victoria collaborates with organisations to tour existing shows that engage with a diverse audience. In 2007 we embarked on a new journey through a partnership with the Centre for Contemporary Photography.

Hall of Mirrors: Anne Zahalka Portraits 1987-2007 is the largest exhibition NETS Victoria has ever undertaken. It spans 29 months and will travel almost 7,500 kilometres to reach 11 of the best galleries in Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania.

Curated by Karra Rees from the Centre for Contemporary Photography, Hall of Mirrors examines portraiture, representation and identity throughout Zahalka's celebrated career. Zahalka's portraits reveal more than just the individual - with an ironic and critical voice the images cleverly subvert stereotypes while capturing subcultures and a spirit of the times with acute observation.

Hall of Mirrors not only explores the thread of portraiture in the career of one of Australia's pre-eminent photomedia artists - it also provides an opportunity for visitors to participate in a fun and interactive program where they have the chance to dress up and re-stage some of the iconic imagery on display.

An engaging feature of this national touring exhibition is the Kodak Education Program, which includes a vinyl backdrop of a generic beach scene specially designed by Zahalka, a range of props to encourage visitors to reference the poses, symbolism or themes of the works on display, and digital cameras donated by Kodak.

Originally intended as an activity for students, this special program has also proven to be popular with those young at heart. Some host venues, including the National Portrait Gallery (NPG), chose to extend the program beyond school group tours and erected the vinyl banner as a permanent feature. This initiative was so popular at the NPG that they have informed NETS Victoria they plan to introduce this type of activity in future exhibitions.

Our partner organisation, the Centre for Contemporary Photography, developed a blog feature on the Hall of Mirrors tour website where a selection of these photographs have been published. Check it out and post your comments: www.ccp.org.au/AnneZahalka.php