On March 31, 2015, Wheaton Biennial artist and Tyler School of Art Professor Dimitra Ermeidou gave a heartfelt lecture on her latest works.
Ermeidou is one of several photographers whose work is currently on display in the Beard and Weil Galleries. Her portraits, which were selected from four of her most recent projects, are part of Wheaton’s 2015 Biennial Photography Beyond the Frame exhibit.
Ermeidou was born in Athens, Greece and now lives in Philadelphia. She is an MFA Candidate in Photography at the Tyler School of Art at Philadelphia’s Temple University. She is a recipient of a University Fellowship Award.
Ermeidou took part in a gallery talk on March 25 and used this talk to elaborate on the inspiration behind her collections.
The first project Ermeidou presented is titled the Stryker Bullet Series, in which she combines and repurposes rejected photographs from the Great Depression. Ermeidou used rejected photographs with holes purposefully punched in them and organized them in a unique way to symbolize the violent impact of the Depression on human lives.
The photographs remind us of the potential threat of another widespread financial crisis. In addition, the lack of visual coherency in her collection symbolizes censorship and politics in troubled times.
Her second and third collections examine the loss of public rights in government and politics.
In “Synecdochic Democracy,” Ermeidou altered photos of the Parthenon to address the problems of public powerlessness.
In “Demos,” Ermeidou photographed destroyed and faceless figures found in ancient Greek reliefs. The faceless figures highlight the underrepresentation of common people in corrupt political systems.
The last collection Ermeidou discussed was titled The Power Players Series, which consists of nine large-scale portraits of some of the most powerful people in the world.
Ermeidou selected famous individuals who are highly associated with democracy and neoliberal economics. Her portraits transform public figures into unknown, faceless images.
The Power Players’ challenges authoritative institutions and forces us to question what constitutes a portrait of global power, according to Ermeidou.
Ermeidou’s portraits are currently on display in the Beard and Weil Galleries. More information about Ermeidou and her current artistic undertakings can be found on her website.