• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Kirk Nicholls has curated and hung an exhibition of his mother Di ffrench's work called Suite: A collection of works 1989 – 1994. It is on display at the Whanganui WHMilbank Gallery until 1 August.

We brought the works out of storage and selected the best ones to suit the space.

In the end, they chose themselves. 

It was interesting going over them and seeing her process again, the multiple layers she built up in an organic way, not digital at all. 

I was surprised with how fresh, vibrant and relevant they seemed after 30 odd years.

It’s a great time to get them out and share again.         

Fond memories

I remember assisting her on some of these pieces, working late at night in her studio above the Regent theatre in Dunedin using the wooden tower my father constructed to hold her slide projector in place. Arranging piles of ash, coal, bits of pavement and other detritus on the floor, sprinkling vibrant pigment colours where needed while projecting images onto the uneven surface and photographing the result from a tripod with her Nikon f3. 

Untitled No.1, Coding' Series, 1991 - Di ffrench.

I am in one of the photographs in the exhibition, a hooded figure all in black (above). I remember showing mum a book with a picture of Japanese bunraku puppeteers and we both loved the way they did not try to hide their presence in their black hoods. 

Robes just held the puppets in front of them, the audience basically chooses to ignore the puppeteers.I think they take on various other meanings in Di’s work as well.

Pop culture inspiration

Hunter Warrior - Di ffrench.

Two of the large photographs in the exhibition are in a series called the Hunter Warrior. I remember watching the Arnold Schwarzenegger sci-fi movie Predator on video one afternoon with mum. Months later, when I saw the new hunter warrior prints, she told me that she was inspired in part by the creature from the movie whose image for camouflage is almost consumed by its surroundings.

Di had a magpie's eye and drew inspiration from many sources; art history, politics through to contemporary pop culture.

At the opening of the show, someone said to me that some of Di’s art pieces reminded her of my work.

It’s interesting being the child of an artist and being surprised when you see elements of their work in your own art.

Advice from mum

Di ffrench. Photo: Adrienne Martyn.

The overall advice I got from mum was to be passionate about your ideas, nothing half-cooked, explore how far you can go with different materials then bring them together in a unified way to create something as original as you can get.

Di was very vocal when formulating her ideas, often I would act as a sounding board when she needed to get something out.

The Life Drawing Class, 1991 - Di ffrench.

Sometimes if I was a bit hungover after a long weekend or just not in the mood, it would be too much and I would just nod hazily in agreement as she kept talking. She was a very light drinker, didn't smoke, went to the gym and was a brown belt in karate; she was always full of beans.

I realise now how much she needed to vocalise and how great it was that she chose me to share in her ideas. 

Bill Milbank of WHMilbank Gallery and Kirk Nicholls in front of two works from the exhibition SUITE. Photo: Supplied.