Graeme Clark AO (b. 1935) is Laureate Professor Emeritus of Otolaryngology at the University of Melbourne and the Director Emeritus of the Bionic Ear Institute. Clark made it possible for thousands of profoundly deaf people to hear when he launched the cochlear implant in 1978. The possibility of using an electrical device to stimulate the nerves inside the inner ear to produce hearing had been pursued sporadically by researchers since the eighteenth century. Clark discovered how to insert an electrode into the inner ear while studying shells on the beach; it took him and his team twelve years to develop the first device that could do this successfully. Nicknamed the 'Bionic Ear', it remains the world leader in its field. Research and refinement of the cochlear implant continue, and Clark has also developed other hearing devices, in pursuit of what has been called one of the major medical advances of our time.
Peter Wegner painted this work for the 2000 Archibald Prize, having seen a photograph of Clark – with his 'warm and welcoming smile' – in an article about the bionic ear. Wegner's portrait shows Clark holding the prototype of the bionic ear, his open-handed gesture reflecting his years as a surgeon as well as his engaged and animated style of conversation.
Gift of the family of Professor Graeme Clark 2001. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.
© Peter Wegner
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