{"id":769520,"date":"2026-06-30T08:39:21","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T08:39:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/769520\/"},"modified":"2026-06-30T08:39:21","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T08:39:21","slug":"purple-haze-nike-savvas-new-exhibition-inspired-by-home-and-migrant-experience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/769520\/","title":{"rendered":"Purple Haze – Nike Savvas’ new exhibition inspired by home and migrant experience"},"content":{"rendered":"

Artist Nike Savvas has opened a new exhibition that delves deeply into the migrant experience, highlighting integral images central to her growing up in Canberra alongside pieces inspired by the waters of Cyprus.<\/p>\n

Savvas\u2019 latest exhibition, titled \u2018Atomic: Purple Haze\u2019, is part of her Atomic with the main work sharing the name of the collection, having been inspired by the colour of Paterson\u2019s Curse plants (also known as Salvation Jane) which appear across Canberra.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis body of work is deeply personal, exploring and honouring the migrant experience growing up in Canberra,\u201d Savvas told Neos Kosmos.<\/p>\n

\u2018Purple Haze\u2019 is a three-dimensional painted landscape filling an entire gallery, comprised of thousands of colourful spheres painted in a range of different shades of purple, green and blue, stretching across the gallery space on nylon thread.\u201dI\u2019ve wanted to make \u2018Atomic: Purple Haze\u2019 now for 16 years. It is great to have realised this work and have it expanded it into a broader exhibition.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Other works that make up the exhibition have been inspired by the migrant experience, honouring the waters of Cyprus. Photo: Supplied<\/p>\n

The artist expressed the centrepiece of the exhibition, currently on display at the Orange Regional Gallery, utilise the plants that serve as a powerful reminder of home for her, having grown up in the Australian capital before moving to Sydney as an adult.<\/p>\n

\u201cTravelling along the Federal Highway, the increasingly purple fields would signal that Canberra was near, creating a familiar and evocative sense of return.\u201d<\/p>\n

The artist with Cypriot roots noted the exhibition features other works that build on the theme of home and place, including some that reference the migrant ocean and the waters of Cyprus.<\/p>\n

\"\"\u2018Purple Haze\u2019. Photo: Supplied<\/p>\n

She expressed her pride in her Cypriot heritage as well as her growing up in Canberra, both of which she honoured through the exhibition.<\/p>\n

\u201cI grew up in Canberra within the community of St Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, immersed in the unique culture and history of Greek Canberra. I have very fond memories of the vibrant community of the 1960s and 1970s,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs the child of migrants raised in Australia, I am compelled to bear witness to and preserve the stories, realities, and histories of my community.\u201d<\/p>\n

The exhibition, developed in partnership with the Art Gallery of New South Wales, opened on 27 June and will be on display until 15 November.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Artist Nike Savvas has opened a new exhibition that delves deeply into the migrant experience, highlighting integral images…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":769521,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[449,458,459,64,63,460,134],"class_list":["post-769520","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-design","tag-entertainment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/769520","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=769520"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/769520\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/769521"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=769520"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=769520"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=769520"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}