ELENI BAKOPOULOS
Throughout her three-decade career, Eleni's artwork has delved into women’s issues, identity, and inclusivity across film, photography, and painting. Recently, her focus has shifted towards exploring her hybrid Canadian identity, offering an empathetic lens on the migrant crisis gripping Greece and the Mediterranean coast, as well as Canada's journey towards Truth and Reconciliation between settlers and Indigenous peoples.
In her series 'Interrupted Reverie,' Eleni explores the works of Canadian artists that formed the Group of Seven. Within their beautiful landscapes, she envisions Hellenistic sculpture, vulnerability, truth, history and hope. In alignment with the theme of The Middle Path, she was also driven to create new paintings addressing the Gaza war.
Her iconic artwork serves as a conduit for our shared humanity, evoking compassion and challenging xenophobia, racism, and apathy. Through her art, she endeavors to offer poignant reflections on the human experience, bridging the past and the present, and fostering connections across cultures and struggles.
Bakopoulos graduated with distinction from the University of Guelph and went on to earn a Master of Fine Arts degree from York University, specializing in both painting and photography. She has been recognized for her achievements with a Discovery Award nomination at the prestigious Les Rencontres d’Arles Photography Festival in France and with a Silver Medal in photography for Canada at the 5th Francophone Games in Niger.
Bakopoulos’ photographs and paintings have been showcased in galleries and exhibitions globally, including the Beaverbrook Art Gallery, The French Cultural Centre during the Olympic winter games in Turin, Italy, and the Rosella Junck Gallery, Berlin.