James Pasakos
Contact James
Pasakos reflects scenes of the Melbourne Docklands. It holds many experiences for the artist from his childhood, cultural identity, and reflects a sense of home. These elements form the foundation for the artist. Most of his works to date are part of an ongoing personal journey to endeavour to understand belonging and identity. Deep connections are made between the two worlds of his Australian upbringing and Greek heritage. He often visits the Melbourne Docklands to collect his thoughts and to view the maritime landscape, to seek his own iconography, narrative, purpose and understanding of sense of place.
The Docklands is an historical area with much significance to the Australian contemporary landscape, which came into prominence during the Victorian Gold rush of the 1850s as a very busy Melbourne shipping hub. Portraying the Melbourne Docklands is to continue the narrative of travel and discovery. During his travels overseas, he has often considered the valuable migrant stories. His works reflect these powerful experiences as they act as reminders of the fragility of our sense of self in the world, and the way in which that sense of identity may develop and spawn new cultural identities that change or shape values of other cultural frameworks.
His methods are in Printmaking, Drawing and in Mixed Media. Works can be seen as surreal and atmospheric. They are often rich in colour and evoke a sense of mystery. They can be quite dark and with this brings a personal insight of the artist.
As a practicing artist, Pasakos has been involved in many collaborative projects, print exchanges and exhibitions that has allowed him to produce other thematic works that have enriched not only his own techniques and methods but his practice and narrative.
Pasakos grew up in Melbourne and now lives in Ballarat, a rural Victorian city. He studied Visual Arts at Monash University, Melbourne. He has a Bachelor of Visual Arts Degree, a Post Graduate Diploma in Printmaking, a Graduate Diploma in Teaching, a Graduate Certificate in Tertiary Education and a Master of Fine Art majoring in Printmaking & Drawing.
Since 1991 Pasakos has regularly exhibited in both solo and group exhibitions throughout Australia and internationally. His works are represented in public, private and university collections. Pasakos is a Visual Arts Lecturer at Federation University Australia teaching into Printmaking, Drawing and Studio Practice.
News & Media
An artistic journey of identity and place, The Greek Herald, 22 December 2023
Global conferences – Peered Review Papers admitted and accepted – exhibitions:
International Print Conference, IMPACT – International Multi-disciplinary Printmaking, Artists, Concepts and Techniques
- 2022 IMPACT 12 The Printmakers’ Voice, (Bristol, 21-25 Sept 2022)
- 2018 IMPACT 10 Santander, Spain
- 2015 IMPACT 9 China Academy of Art, Hangzhou, China – link not available
- IMPACT 2013 Dundee, Scotland
Exhibitions
- 2020 – Group – International Print Exchange ‘Rivers of Gold’ An Art & Science Symposium. – Latrobe University, Bendigo
- 2019 – Group – Cascade Gallery, Maldon ‘Diversity in Print’ Goldfields Printmakers
- 2018 – Solo – Spain, Santander ‘The Journeying Printmaker’
- 2016 – Solo – Tacit Galleries Melbourne ‘Docks & Wharves’
- 2015 – Group – Xiaoxiang Exhibition of International Printmaking, China
- Goldfields Printmakers: Founder in 2012 by Pasakos, is facilitator and ongoing
Projects
- Federation University Australia Lecturer in the Visual Arts – Printmaking, Drawing & Studio Practice
- 2021 – Greek Australian Cultural League ‘Antipodean Palette’
- 2015 – Ongoing, ‘Parallel Prints NZ&AU’
- 2013 – Ongoing, ‘Thinking of Place’ a global project
Prizes
