ARTWORK

Major Cate Carter

A Military Life in Four Phases, 2021

Printed text and found objects.

This piece describes the concurrent and sometimes conflicting narratives of the military experience; from the normalisation and professionalisation of violence to the intimacy of the military brotherhood and the commitment to each other ‘for better or worse’. It acknowledges the gravity, excitement, frustration, humour and futility of service life, and ultimately, our own mortality. This work was inspired by Edna O’Brien’s description of Harry Parker’s book, ‘Anatomy of a Soldier’, of which she says, “…all the paraphernalia of slaughter is deployed to tell its particular and savage story”. This is one story.

Major George Acheson-Thom

Afterglow, 2021

Mixed media on canvas

George mostly paints landscapes in a colourful abstract style. He aims to depict a sense of place instead of a representative image of a specific location, and which captures the interplay of light on vegetation, rocks and water. The resulting landscapes are typically devoid of human presence or influence thus allowing the viewer to enjoy the landscape in contemplative solitude without the interruption of others.

Afterglow is inspired by the golden radiance of the setting sun’s dying rays cast across the Brindabella Hills and reflected in the Murrumbidgee River so frequently seen during late-afternoons near the artist’s Canberra home. It is painted in a combination of acrylic and enamels on wood-framed canvas.

Major Cassandra Brooker

Reflection, 2020

Oil on card, 51 x 126 cm

This painting is a study in reflection of operational service juxtaposed against the underlying, hidden emotions of soldiers getting on with their duties in wartime, not seen on the surface nor understood at the time, and which emerge later on in the quiet of peacetime. Only red and green oil paint were used to create this painting, mixed with white for a tonal scale. Red is symbolic of the Army, power, anger, violence, danger, blood, poppies, the enemy, and war. Whilst green evokes thoughts of camouflage material, terrain, calmness, peace, vegetation, luck, Islam, hospital walls, and the Afghan National Army (Green force). Mixing these two hues together results in much of the light spectrum being absorbed and the resulting dark brown, almost black, evokes heavy feelings of depression, death, sadness, decay, and darkness.

Corporal Jessica Haines-Hann

Moments from Disaster

(Trilogy), 2021/22

Airbrushed acrylic on canvas. 90cm x 120cm

1.Peonies, Petals & Impostors

2.Sweets, Treats & Misgivings

3.Pastels, Designs & Disquiet

This trilogy aims to emphasise the disconnect that can often be felt as part of the military experience, especially for those who don’t necessarily fit the expected mould as a serving member.

A transient, often uncertain future, combined with impostor syndrome and lifestyle demands that blur the lines between the professional and private can sometimes leave a member feeling lost and apprehensive, just waiting for the next moment of chaos.