Joshua Franklin | A Home Without Innocence

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Joshua Franklin, "Window Bars, 2021,"

latex on voile, 20"x24". Courtesy of the Gallery.

A Home Without Innocence looks at Franklin's childhood experiences of sexual abuse as a means to generate community awareness and conversation about ending the cycle of abuse. Franklin pulls from primary imagery, Google street view and memory to construct a narrative of the environments of his upbringing, by retracing the housing moves his family made while he was growing up. While the houses changed, the mental and physical abuse did not.

Franklin's intent is to shine a light on tragic moments within his own life, so that others can find community and become aware of the abuses that occur behind closed doors. Wishing to create a platform for other survivors and community members, the works challenge the viewer in soft and contemplative ways.

Josh Franklin is a 26-year-old honours graduate from the Visual Arts Department at the University of Victoria. Josh has been in Canada since 2011 where prior to this he moved constantly due to his parents involvement in the Christian Church. He was born in the Czech Republic, grew up in California, and now resides in Victoria. Since moving to the Pacific Northwest, he has been active within the arts community.

At a young age, Josh was taken advantage of by a family member. Due to his family’s involvement with the church, as his parents were missionaries, the years of sexual abuse were left unresolved. In 2017 Josh came to terms with what happened and started a lifelong path of healing. 

Josh used art as therapy in university, even before he realized that was what he was doing. Now, he is at a point where he has shifted this perspective. He has started looking to his past lived experiences as a means to create work so that the atrocities of sexual abuse towards young children come to light and bring awareness to others. Understanding the sensitive and triggering work of this nature, Josh has decided to focus on the houses he grew up in and the feelings attached to memory for his subject matter. 

Coming from a unique background, Josh hopes to relate to others that have felt the ostracization effects of this, and to promote education, empathy and understanding from the community.

Some of this content may be triggering. If you need to talk to someone, please try these resources:

Vancouver Island Crisis Line: 1-888-494-3888

Victoria Sexual Assault Centre: 250-383-3232

Men’s Therapy Centre: 250-381-6367 (250-381-MENS), info@menstherapycentre.ca