Hall of Mirrors: Anne Zahalka Portraits 1987 - 2007 A NETS Victoria touring exhibition

Curated by Karra Rees, Hall of Mirrors examines portraiture, representation and identity throughout Zahalka’s celebrated career, which spans more than 20 years. 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.

Featuring over 70 works, Hall of Mirrors brings together Zahalka’s renowned imagery, introduces previously unseen portraits from several series, and also showcases new works commissioned for this major touring exhibition. Visitors will be able to view images from such memorable series as Resemblance (1987) and Bondi: Playground of the Pacific (1989), as well as Open House (1995) and Welcome to Sydney (2002), which was commissioned by the Sydney Airport Authority. Newly commissioned portraits of artists will also be presented along with a selection of self-portraits from the artist’s archive.

Portraiture for Zahalka has been a consistent, evolving and multi-layered practice. From the self-conscious stage-setting of her earlier works to the later images presented in a more documentary vein, the idea that appearances can be deceptive has been central to Zahalka’s practice. Tampering with truth in representation, blurring the boundary between reality and fiction, Zahalka uses a variety of photomedia techniques. Incorporating photomontage, double exposure, darkroom trickery and digital manipulation, her practice has consistently enquired into the nature of image-making and its relationship to the world around us.

Frances Thomson, Director of the Perc Tucker Regional Gallery said, “Hall of Mirrors is an extended meditation on the mysterious and ambiguous nature of portraiture.

“Zahalka likes to explore the nature of image making and examine what a portrait reveals about a person and how the medium of photography can bend and reject the truth,” Frances Thomson explained.