Sydney Contemporary art fair, Carriageworks, 3-6 September 2026
An explosive, fearless talent for colour is on full display in this new series of figurative paintings by Eleni Ioakimidis. Her canvases pulsate with an energy that beckons like an invitation to a bright and fabulous gathering. The characters depicted look out at us in a most welcoming way; we feel in the presence of unknown friends.
Eleni says that eye contact is supremely important to how she engages with and interprets the world around her. She fills sketchbooks with drawings of people in her orbit, and when lying in bed at night, a multitude of instances when eyes meet play back in her mind like rushes, a non-stop reel of faces and sliding doors moments. Her works emerge from these experiences, and a passion for pushing the limits of her palette. Metallic green, teal, lime, steel blue, fluoro pink – the way her colours live together on the canvas is as important to Eleni as the interaction between her figures.
In each of these works characters are engaged in an array of curious and tangled actions. They have been caught in a moment that is somewhere between posing for a photograph, and being surprised mid-game. Bodies bend and contort, and it is tempting to play along, to mirror the scene in the canvas as we stand in front of it. While they don’t necessarily embrace, there is a tenderness in the relationship between these figures, especially the little space invaders with their sprouting wings and embryonic tails, that burst in to the canvases from all angles (Impersonating duty, Deliberate introductions.) While they appear to belong to others in the picture frame, they also feel like an offering, something we could willingly carry, stroke, hug.
The mask is a recurring element and acts like a secret in the works. Reading colour can be used here to unlock possible meanings – green fingernails and mask hint at a game or dress-ups (Impersonating duty), as does a red sprite (Complex operator); a chalky cobalt figure is half hidden, in contrast to a maternal figure in varied hues of crimson, which may suggest the presence of a childhood memory (Fever dream). Masks can make things a little uncertain yet here the proposition seems to be that we can play our various roles and still have fun.
There is a freedom that washes over you in looking at these works, guided by the fluidity of painted figures. Feeling our way through these scenarios of togetherness, there is an uplifting sense that it’s ok to do things that are not quite the norm, don a purple mask, be the art. A sense that anything is possible.
Samantha Ferris
August 2026
‘No matter how isolated you are and how lonely you feel, if you do your work truly and conscientiously, unknown friends will come and seek you.’
Letters of C. G. Jung: Volume 2, 1951-1961.
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Eleni Ioakimidis (b. 1990) completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts at the National Art School in 2025. Past exhibitions include A Folded Memory, Tiles Gallery (2025), Baby Star, Prop Gallery (2024), and the solo exhibition, GIRLS GIRLS GIRLS, Abstract Thoughts Gallery (2022). Writing on her work has been included in homegrwnau, AATONAU and Memo Review. Currently, Eleni is a finalist in the 2026 Mosman Art Prize. She is represented by Syrup Contemporary, Sydney.
Samantha Ferris 