Phantom Histories by Australian Artist and Academic, LUCILLE MARTIN

Lucille Martin takes us on a photographic journey in search of her French Identity.

 Phantom Histories is a personal photographic portrait investigating artist, Lucille Martin’s genealogies and cross-cultural connections between Marseille, the African Diaspora, England and Australia. This project is founded in Lucille’s quest to rediscover her French ancestry, annulled as a baby, within the ‘Forced Adoption’ generation of Christian children.

From 1950 to early 1980’s, the Australian Government mandated the removal of all babies born out of wedlock from their birth mothers, and placing them with childless married couples. This policy led to the involuntary separation of approximately 225,000 infants across Australia, erasing their names, identities and omitting them from their genealogical history.

“Understanding these acts’, antecedents and aftermath is critical to learning from a sombre societal mis-step. This chapter in Australian history is part of a broader narrative of colonial injustices that have and continue to scar the Australian landscape. There is no righting these wrongs, there is just listening and learning about how to help best heal all those affected by this past law.”  Maya Martin-Westheimer, Curator, Artist, Academic 2024

In November 2023, Lucille was awarded the Inaugural PICA-La Friche, Marseille Residency Award, based on the Phantom History project.

Sponsored by The French Embassy, in Australian, the award selected a West Australian Photographer for a 2 month residency in Marseille to participate in an intensive Photo-book mentoring program with Fabienne Pavia, director of independent Photo-book publishing company Le Bec en l’air, based within La Friche le belle de Mai, Marseille.