Photographic artist Spiros Coutroubas takes the viewer back to the times of the early 1990s in his exhibition Scenes from the Mall at Belconnen Arts Centre until 11 February.

Throughout the 1980s and ‘90s, Mr Coutroubas could often be found snapping portraits around Canberra, capturing moments in time at places like Raiders games and in the Greek community. Although he amassed a significant portfolio, soon other priories took the wheel and the images went unexhibited.

Over the past five years, the photographer has been looking through his collection and felt a pang of disappointment they hadn’t been seen. Although some have questioned why he would want to exhibit the photos three decades after they were taken, Mr Coutroubas knew it was the right time.

“I just think it deserves to be seen and it would have been a shame just to sort of pass on it and have it not be seen… A lot of this stuff I have photographed for the record and for history, it’s intended to be a record of the time.”

The exhibition featuring a collection of images taken in 1989-1990 showcases some of the faces that visited and worked at Belconnen Mall during that time. It can be broken down into three sections- Portrait of a Stairwell, Shoppingtown and Lido Café.

When he was capturing the images, Mr Coutroubas saw his role as that of a kind of social historian.  Sometimes people would be suspicious of what the shots might be used for and he had to explain in a way that assured them he wasn’t taking advantage of them. Taking portraits at the Canberra Show in 1990, he thought of the perfect way to describe it.

“I’d say to people ‘If you were at the Canberra Show and next door there was an exhibition of a whole lot of people in the Canberra Show in 1960, would you be interested in seeing that show?’ It really resonated and they would say ‘Yeah, I’d be in for that’ and I’d say “Good, you’re it today, come back in 30 years’” he smiles.

The first section of the exhibition has a sense of intimacy with the photos and the people captured, there is a sense of deep trust. Taken at the Lido Bistro which was in the mall and owned by the Coutroubas family at the time, the photographer took a year off art school to help the family business. 

“I thought ‘Well, I’m still motivated by my photography, I’ve had to take a year out so I’m gonna turn the camera around and document this environment.’”

Sometimes captured over several days, each picture was then developed and brought back for the subjects to see and write an accompanying message. Mr Coutroubas was intrigued by people’s willingness to have their photo taken but were then hesitant to write anything about themselves.

“I think they felt that it was opening themselves up more than the image. Even the people who really tried to hold back, those comments in there are actually just as telling because it’s quite obvious that they’re just really holding back. They’re the person who wants to not reveal themselves,” says Mr Coutroubas.

In contrast, Portrait of a Stairwell captures strangers on their way to or from the mall, not taking any detail from the subjects, Mr Coutroubas simply asked if they would mind having their photos taken.

“The only thing you know about them is what you see. People have described it as an amalgam of the person, the clothes and belongings and you separate it from the backdrop, so you have this intense focus on the person.”

The only subject he did know, was his father who he caught on his way to the café, he says the lack of information about the subject invites the viewer to write their own story.

The third section, Shoppingtown, captures the transient people who worked in the common areas of the mall. Not wanting to capture the shopkeepers and mainstays, he was intrigued by the people who took over the walkways and plazas.

“Things like Encylopedia salesman, The Wackadoo Show which was a sort of school holiday show where they had a competition. People who have part-time jobs promoting dog food in Coles or the young guy selling Legacy badges, just people who are in the common areas,” explains Mr Coutroubas.

Together, the exhibition showcases a history of Canberra that you wouldn’t see in brochures or documented in museums- it is the history of the ordinary, everyday side of our city. Mr Coutroubas hopes visitors will take an appreciation for a different kind of history from the exhibition.

“Canberra has achieved a sort of status where this sort of artwork, ordinary people in ordinary places are meaningful and an opportunity for us to reflect on ourselves and our history.”

See the people and the history in Scenes from the Mall at Belconnen Arts Centre until 11 February; belcoarts.com.au or find out more about Spiros Coutroubas; fotofacto.com

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