Rachel Francis & Leo Francis | Primeval Present
Primeval Present
Artist: Rachel Francis and Leo Francis
Artist Statement
A body of water sits in an otherwise stark landscape. Strange and beautiful pod-like forms punctuate the environment. These mutated species look ancient and primitive. Somehow, they have sprouted, nourished by the swamp. Lush, flowering limbs have emerged, heralding a new and exciting future. This is the inevitable, yet unexpected, regrowth of a once dormant place.
Location
Love & Co., 307 Spring St, Reservoir VIC 3073
Artist Profile
Directed by Alana Thompson
Produced by Black Ant Films for FUSE Darebin
Artist Bio
Rachel Francis (nee Brown) is an NZ born Melbourne artist, a sculpture major, graduating from The University of Canterbury Ilam School of Fine Arts. She has exhibited in both New Zealand and Australia producing works early in her career that revolved around the ideas of sexual politics and innuendo along with themes of fictionality and desire, born out of childhood whimsy and mediated by the transition into adulthood. After becoming a mother, Rachel began to investigate relationships within families and other species creating her own hybrid organisms. These creatures can be seen as a phantasm of future utopias or dystopias and compel the audience to contemplate their own social differences but also celebrate their similarities. As well as ceramics in her work, Rachel’s consistent use of traditionally women’s crafts, draws on the notion of nurture and fertility as the basis of humanity and also speaks to the underrepresentation of women in major roles within this society.
Artist Bio
Leo Francis is a songwriter and singer, who has worked Melbourne venues regularly for the last 10 years. As a member of rock-a-billy three piece, The Rechords, he’s toured in Europe and been invited to play local festivals such as Falls, Meredith and The Reservoir Stomp. More recently, Leo has teamed up with other Reservoir musicians to form The Cheddar Road Allstars, collaborating on an album of songs interpreting the work of treasured local writer, Barry Dickins. This was also performed live at the last in-person ‘Stomp. Leo’s fascination with traditional and popular musical formulas, commitment to personally unique storytelling and passionate, honest communication guides his songwriting and live performances.
