An intimate point of view

A Di ffrench work in the Forrester collection tells a tale of evolution, Elly Dunckley writes.

In 1985, the practice of Melbourne-born artist Di ffrench (1946-99) underwent a significant shift from performance and sculpture to photography. Her View Finder Series of the early to mid-’90s featured magnified imagery encased in black or white geometric boxed structures. Image One, from the Illustration of Government Series (1995), which sits within the Forrester Gallery’s collection, shares an intimate point of view.

ffrench’s deeply feminist perspective enabled her to challenge expectations surrounding gender and sexuality in portraiture and photography. She disrupted historically predetermined notions of masculinity and femininity, reversing traditional power dynamics, prompting modern contemplation. Her subject matter revealed vulnerabilities, showing that men too can be sensitive or somewhat subdued.

Image One, from the Illustration of Government Series features a multidisciplinary installation informed by concepts present in the frescoes of the 14th century Sienese-taught painter Ambrogio Lorenzetti. The work challenges the idea of ownership within photography, extending debate over land ownership, using the body and environment metaphorically. ffrench questioned interactions between tāngata and whenua — people and land. By distorting imagery through applied visual techniques, viewers are invited to consider their own position within a worldview.

Di ffrench was a passionate arts educator, teaching at the Dunedin School of Art at both the Ōtepoti Dunedin and Oamaru campuses. She lived at Teschemakers for two years while working in Oamaru. Her work was collected by Dunedin Public Art Gallery, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, Te Papa Tongarewa and the Hocken Collections.

In 1992-93, ffrench was commissioned by the Christchurch City Council to commemorate 100 years of the Women’s Suffrage Centennial with a 9m by 2m embroidered wall hanging. She invited 100 members of the Canterbury Embroiderers’ Guild to collectively stitch about 24,000 metres of cotton and wool into the work.

Elly Dunckley is curator of archives at the Waitaki Museum and Archive Te Whare Taoka o Waitaki.