How migrating to the 'wild' world of Darwin as a child inspired Franck Gohier's artistic career

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Artist Franck Gohier is part of the artistic fabric of Darwin, but, when he arrived from France with his parents 50 years ago, the cyclone-ravaged outpost was like an alien universe.

Transcript

00:01Here's an example of one of my prints.

00:05It's a screen print and letterpress poster

00:08commemorating when the Beatles came into Darwin

00:11to refuel their plane.

00:15Growing up here has influenced a lot of what I do here with my work.

00:18When I was a teenager I was a bit of an amateur archaeologist

00:21so I'd go in the mangroves foraging around looking for bits and pieces.

00:26My name's Frank, I'm a visual artist on Larrakir Country.

00:31The history of Darwin has been very influential in my practice over the years.

00:36My parents had heard about Cyclone Tracy and we'd moved from Paris to Sydney to Darwin

00:41which was totally wiped out.

00:43It was just like being on another planet or in a science fiction movie.

00:47It was pretty wild.

00:49Mum and Dad had a demolition business, they helped with the clean up

00:52and so that still informs my work to a great deal as well too.

00:55There's lots of strata, lots of history, the detritus of other people's stories

01:00which I bring into new contemporary storytelling I suppose as well too.

01:03Some of those objects that I find are also incorporated into the artwork as well too

01:07to give them more layering and more meaning.

01:09I was playing with the words Smith Street and the words Smith

01:12and just all the different connotations as it had to do with Darwin at the time.

01:16So it's just a bit of a haiku to Darwin really, Darwin history.

01:20This painting's like the culmination of I guess lots of different things.

01:25When someone's commissioning a work or asking me to work on a project

01:29I ask that person like what they want from that idea.

01:33Or I'll ask that of myself as well too.

01:35So if I'm working say on a series about the bombing of Darwin

01:38the first port of call would be the Ordinary Territory Archive

01:41then probably on Google as well too.

01:43And then I'll probably just go and try and find sites around Darwin

01:46where there's still remnants of that history.

01:48I just keep making things, I keep exploring things.

01:52I get all sorts of jobs and I'll just take them all on.

01:54It's like, it's always the next job that's the most interesting job.

01:58You know what I mean?

01:59It's like you kind of go, I've just had this huge show in Sydney or whatever.

02:01What am I doing today?

02:02Oh, I'm doing a screen print for someone's gig somewhere.

02:05It's all fun.

02:06I just make my own art and the people who like it like it

02:09and the people who don't don't.

02:11So love you.

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