Pallaconian brotherhood

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RESEARCH BACKGROUND This exhibition highlighted the way memorials or monuments can reveal more about what is omitted than commemorated. Artists investigated the revision of history through the archive, and the way a story mutates through its retelling. Pantazopoulos explored this theme through Melbourne's Pallaconinan Brotherhood and their construction of a monument of the revered King of Sparta, King Leonidas (c.540-480 BC). The work was informed by the work of artists such as Tom Nicholson (Australia), Kutuluk Attaman (Turkey), Christodolou Panagiotou (Cyprus), who are also investigating public monuments and their meaning. RESEARCH CONTRIBUTION This work involved the building of a public monument by a group of men in the Laconian community. The monument endeavours to trace the community's history and the way the Leonidas narrative has been grafted onto the Australian migrant context and experience. It is the only work that has focused on this community to date and has personal significance for Pantazopoulos as his family has a connection with the community. RESEARCH SIGNIFICANCE This is a self-reflective artwork that draws on the artist's cultural awareness of the Leonidas legacy and is an inquiry into the relationship between public art and history. The Gertrude Contemporary presented this tenth exhibition in an annual Octopus series, a unique program that offers leading curators from across Australia the opportunity to extend their professional practice, developing exhibitions that enhance curatorial and creative debate within Australia and internationally. It was curated by José Da Silva, Curator of the Australian Cinémathèque at the Queensland Art Gallery.