BRONIA IWANCZAK AND MICHAEL PAREKOWHAI
In Australia and New Zealand the year 2015 marks the centenary of the First World War, of the Gallipoli landing and of what most people simply call ‘Anzac’. It is seen as a chance to commemorate a history of which many people are proud. The birth of a nation, the sacrifice of thousands, democracy and freedom are reasons to celebrate the participation of Australia and New Zealand in World War One (WWI). But how times change. As students in New Zealand in the seventies we rolled our eyes when parents brought up the subject of ‘the war’, by which they meant the Second World War. There was no possibility that we would march in support of our fathers and their friends on Anzac Day, especially since the Vietnam War was a reason to protest political conflict. But in 2015 everyone is expected to share a genuine emotional commitment to remembrance and commemoration of a war that took place a hundred years ago. And this expectation is ongoing, not occasional; every year, usually more than once a year, a reason is given to observe the rituals associated with the aftermath of WWI and we are expected to join in or consider carefully the implications of not participating. All of this takes place against a background of contemporary civil wars, ethnic violence, drug wars, terrorism and insurgency that are tearing the world apart and killing untold numbers of people, including Australians, but are seen as different in the sense that they are not part of Australian tradition and they are not seen to define Australian identity.
In the arts especially, it is often difficult to know what position to occupy in war’s... The rest of this article is available to subscribers of Eyeline
Bronia Iwanczak, Battlefield #1, 2011-2014. Chromogenic print on Archival water paper, 300 x 240cm. Courtesy the artist.
Michael Parekowhai, Boulogne, 2001. C-type colour photograph, 150 x 120cm. Image courtesy the artist and Michael Lett, Auckland.
