OUR FORGOTTEN DEAD

Wedderburn Mechanics Literary Institute,

Lawrence and Riley Finn

This exhibition of works created by the father son printmaking collaboration of Lawrence and Riley Finn delves into the enduring psychological and emotional costs of war. While history remembers the battlefield, the politician and the broad strokes it seldom examines the other legacy of conflict which is passed down through families, reshaping relationships, identities, and entire generations. The Forgotten Dead asks us to look beyond medals and memorials to the less visible scars war leaves behind. Rooted in the artists’ family history, the work traces inherited trauma from the Boer War to the World Wars and Korea, Suez & Vietnam. Stories told by Lawrence’s grandfather on evening walks are the starting point of a deeply personal exploration. The imagery reflects both lived and described experiences: from the horror of Passchendaele and the fall of Singapore, to Auschwitz and a forced march across Germany near war’s end; back to the quiet tragedies of a letter sitting on the kitchen table. Through this layered narrative, the exhibition examines the ripple effect of war—how violence and sacrifice echo down through time, reshaping and changing those who carry the burden of their parents’ legacies.

Our Forgotten Dead is a series of artists work and artist books on four members of my family who gave away a part of their lives or their lives to serve their countries in war.

Lawrence Finn is a fine artist and printmaker. He was the youngest artist accepted into the National Art School (then the Dept of Fine Arts at East Sydney Technical College), and his work was acquired by the National Gallery before he had turned 21. His work is grounded in technical mastery as well as intellectual and conceptual depth:  Australia has a strong tradition of celebrating art for its aesthetics, but art also offers us a critical lens—one that challenges and offers perspectives which reflect the complexities of the world. Art is more than just pretty pictures.

Riley Finn: the son of master printmaker, Lawrence Finn, Riley is a young printmaker and woodblock artist, who is interested in the Germanic tradition of formschneider as well as the Japanese tradition of mentoring. He learnt gouache painting with the late artist Ian Gibson and was working on a book with John Marsden before the writer’s death last year.