When we think of progressive fashion, design and edge ideas we tend to look to the south – to Sydney and Melbourne – for inspiration while often little attention is paid to our creative counterparts over to the west. So at times there’s a feeling that the city’s creative scene exists independently of the rest of the country. It’s a long way to travel to Perth and perhaps it’s the force of distance that leads to us putting our blinkers on. But there seems to be a quiet revolution happening in Perth. It started several years ago with a revived music scene and now fashion is forcing it’s turn. Our attention was caught last year with Carly Hunter and now we’ve found another reason to keep our sights firmly focused on Perth; photographer Traianos Pakioufakis, our latest feature artist for Canvas and another great case in point that the local fashion scene is coming alive with new ideas and fresh perspectives. Traianos keeps his heart in Perth but his head is brimming with ideas that are worthy of an all-embracing applause. In traditional Q&A style, we spoke with Traianos about his foray into photography.
CANVAS: How did you fall into fashion photography?
Traianos: I got into photography in my mid-teens, learning the basics of black and white film processing in high school. It was something I really enjoyed so I went to technical college for a couple of years until I realised that I had learnt enough about the science and not enough about the reality of making good images. Naturally I started assisting and took my time working out exactly what I wanted to achieve with my photographs.
And what is it that you want to achieve with your work?
The most important part in developing my own style was the realisation that I didn’t have to prove myself as a photographer through technological tricks. I love shooting in natural light and working with the fringe of technology. I think as a photographer you hope to move forwards quickly and it’s still early days for me, but I think I’ve finally started to find my style.
You know, sometimes technology can encourage people to become lazy, almost like it’s easier to trick the eye than to train the eye, and I think that’s why we’re taken with your work – because there is a real sense of honesty in the way you capture an image.
I’m glad that comes through. These days people have access to so many images, it is difficult to pick up on points of view.
Are there photographers, past or present, that influence your work?
Paolo Roversi was a huge influence early on, these days I love Daniel Riera and Chadwick Tyler amongst many others. Carly Hunter’s own photography also inspires me greatly, which is why it’s so great to collaborate with her on shoots [the duo collaborated on Carly's most recent collection campaign].
And you’re Perth born and raised?
Yes, born in Perth to Greek parents. My mother is from the very north of Greece and my father is from Crete, the southern most island. They met here in Perth in the early 1980′s. I must say that I have had the best of both worlds growing up, feeling equally Greek and Australian. Obviously with a name like mine you have no choice – you cannot hide from it!
Perth is quite isolated from our other capital cities. How do you think this fares on the city’s creative culture and your work?
Perth’s isolation is its greatest quality. We live in paradise here. As an artist, the opportunity to do what you want is unparalleled. Unfortunately, to a large extent, people become frustrated with the things Perth “is not” and eventually move away. I have never considered moving east, it has never appealed to me. I am very interested in living in Europe, especially Greece and Germany. I will trial it out this year actually, see how I go.
Would this be your first time working abroad?
I’ve never worked overseas before but like everyone else it is something I’d like to try. I have no set plans, my girlfriend and I are going give it a go and see what happens. I’m primarily interested in experiencing photography as an occupation overseas, whether it be assisting or shooting. To some extent, I feel that in Australia we try to emulate European light and style, removing what is typically Australian from our background. Coming from Perth, where we compare everything we do next to Melbourne before looking to the rest of the world, I’d like to see what actually happens in other corners — what their attitudes are to their environment and to light.
Brisbane suffers from the same stigma and lack of self confidence sometimes when it comes to fashion and culture.
Yeah, I hear that Perth and Brisbane are quite similar. I’ve never been, but have quite a few connections to the city through my experimental music label, Meupe. Obviously the isolation as creative freedom idea swings both ways, breeding both really great and really bad ideas with very little quality control from the public. It is easy to do well over here and actually be really terrible. For example, Western Australia has amongst the worst locally produced magazines in the world and definitely the worst hospitality service. For a state that constantly looks elsewhere for inspiration, for the most part we really don’t pay attention to the details. It’s a shame, but I guess you can’t have your cake and eat it too. I wouldn’t trade growing and training in Perth for anywhere else in the world, this city is a wonderland. I really do love it here.
Related posts:
