Why are we obsessed with capturing an experience we live in fear of? Journalists, photographers, news presenters and ‘war zone’ writers swamp us with never-ending tales of heroes, victims, enemies and bystanders. Now even artists are being flown in to document the conditions of war. This constant fixation with war makes me question why, from the comfort of our homes, we feel the need to throw ourselves into the firing line. Fascinated yet horrified by the conditions and circumstances our troops find themselves in, the Australian War Memorial has been a part of an organisation which sends artists to locations of conflict for, in their words: ‘the purpose of creating a personal and informed representation of that conflict’.1 But why do we need an ‘informed representation’ of a war zone? Also, what can an artist bring to this field of ‘professional’ observation that a regular journalist cannot? Collectively, aren’t they still each intruders to a brotherhood of battalions? To be a part of the Official Art Scheme is a tremendous honour, as only the most commended artists are asked to pack their paint brushes and their tooth brushes for a month of deployment with the troops. Over this time the artist is there to observe and relate to the experiences of war on a personal scale. Why? To produce an art piece that is one with soldiers, one with the hostile, broken experiences of war, so we believe we have an understanding of what it takes to defend our country. Is it that we feel empowered by the sense of accumulating knowledge in an area which is usually ‘classified’? One thing that is for certain is the change in the... The rest of this article is available to subscribers of Eyeline
Ben Quilty, Captain S after Afghanistan, 2012. Oil on linen, 210 x 230cm. Courtesy the artist and Jan Murphy Gallery, Brisbane.
