Di ffrench(1946 – 1999) is considered to be one of New Zealand's most innovative performance and photographic artists. The large cibachrome photographic works on show at the Milbank Gallery in Whanganui were conceived and executed in the 1980s and 1990s.
The works range from small personal portraits of artists tolarge and vividly coloured cibachrome prints. The depth of the prints imbues the works with an ocean of colour and shadow. Cibachrome prints are archivally very strong, very sharp and robust but producing them was problematic and they are now rarely produced.
The relevance and potency of these photographs, in so far as subject matter and sexual politics, remains undiminished and is as current today as when they were first exhibited. Di ffrench's interest in the male/female dichotomy meant that she explored issues that challenged what the traditional art scene was doing at the time – and she was widely known as a fierce feminist artist.
In these works she combines sculpture, painting and photography. A process that required time, construction and the manipulation of imagery and bodies, including her own. She would place sculptural objects on the floor, overlay with pure pigment colours and then project images against the tableau, photographing the result.
She was particularly interested in the "male gaze" and she explored this extensively. She challenged the way the female form was often arranged (by men) into classical and idealised poses. Her photographic works allow her female subjects to be self-determining and provocative on their own terms. Often ffrench uses her own naked body in her work – taking the strong poses she learnt from martial arts.
Her son Kirk Nicholls says: "When I unpacked them I was actually very surprised at how fresh, vibrant and intense they were because I hadn't seen them in 15 years. I was very moved when I saw them again.
"She is a very important New Zealand artist and now in the era of #metoo even more so. She was a bold innovator and really gutsy. She was a warrior. I am very proud of her." Bill Milbank exhibited Di ffrench at the Sarjeant in 1993 and says that her vibrant Dome installation No 17 – AND OUT FLEW THE WEB was a stimulating and challenging experience for the visiting public. "She was a most dynamic personality to engage with."
Her work is held in private collections all over New Zealand and public collections in the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki, Sarjeant Gallery Te Whare o Rehua Whanganui and the Hocken Collections in Dunedin.
Di ffrench: Suite Photographs by Di ffrench A collection of works 1986 – 1998 Exhibition at the WHMilbank Gallery, 1 Bell St, Whanganui Exhibition dates: Wednesday, July 1 - Saturday, August 1. Gallery open hours are now Wednesday to Saturday,midday - 3pm or by appointment by phoning 0276286877.
