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Gallipoli ArtPrize2012

Gallipoli Memorial Club Museum Fund Inc

Gallipoli ArtPrize 2012

Our CreedWe Believe...

That within the community there exists an obligation

for all to preserve the special qualities of loyalty,

respect, love of country, courage and comradeship

which were personified by the heroes of the Gallipoli

Campaign and bequeathed to all humanity as a

foundation of perpetual peace and universal freedom.

Acknowledgements

The Gallipoli Memorial Club wishes to acknowledge the wonderful

efforts so tirelessly given by the following people in contributing

towards another successful year of the Gallipoli Art Prize.

JUDGESJohn McDonaldJane WattersBarry PearceCraig Hickey

PHOTOGRAPHY

Siobhan Ford

SPECIAL REPORT (BACk PAGE)

Doug Conway, AAP Senior Correspondent

SPONSOR

Australian Government Department of Veterans’ Affairs provided valuable financial assistance towards the publishing of this

and the Canakkale Art Prize catalogues.

For further information, please log onto www.gallipoli.com.au

The Australian Government

Catalogue supported by the Australian Government Department of Veterans’ Affairs

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GallipoliArt

prize 2012

Foreword by John McDonald

Each year since its inception in 2005, the Gallipoli Art Prize has attracted a growing number of entries and a higher percentage of works by professional artists. This is not to say professional artists are given special consideration over inspired amateurs, but it is an indication that the prize is being taken seriously as an art exhibition, not solely as a celebration of the ANZAC spirit.

Nevertheless, if there is one feature that distinguishes this event from other Australian art competitions, it is precisely that underlying spirit. By taking as its theme the creed of the Gallipoli Memorial Club, with its values of “loyalty, respect, love of country, courage and comradeship”, the prize stands for something greater than mere self-interest.

As a judge one cannot fail to be touched by the number of entries by artists whose relatives fought for their country, either in the First World War or another campaign. The Prize has given these artists a reason to reflect on the sacrifices and hardships shared by Australian and also Turkish soldiers. This is not the same as choosing a famous face to paint for the Archibald, or a landscape for the Wynne. There are moral questions raised by a show that invites artists and audiences to consider what it means to put one’s life on the line in defence of an ideal. It asks us to understand the love of one’s country, and the differences between patriotism and nationalism.

Most of all, it shows war as a terrible experience that breaks down social barriers and customs, bringing people together in adversity. From troubled times comes a new sense of shared identity and purpose. If this were not the case, war would be too painful and pointless.

This is one of the reasons the Prize features few works that show scenes of combat or violence. This is the aspect of war we all know - glamourised and made into a cliché by generations of Hollywood films. It is so much harder, so redolent of greater thought and maturity, to look for the positive qualities that have been born from these human conflagrations.

The judges have awarded the 2012 Prize to Geoff Harvey, for Trench interment, a strikingly original work that presents the trenches as as “an archaeological time capsule”. The rusty relics of months spent in these muddy hollows, where so many would lose their lives, creates a vivid sense of the Great War passing into the fog of time. These objects and traces of the soldiers’ daily existence suggest we must continue to work to keep their legacy alive.

From a strong field the judges have also highly commended Leo Robba’s Garden of Remembrance 2012, Bill Nix’s The Memorial, and Peter Gardiner’s They Wore Feathers (Uncle Jim). In distinctive ways each of these works makes a strong statement about war, death and remembrance. From Gardner’s blackened and battle-scarred soldier to Nix’s small-town memorial, with its poignant list of the fallen; to Robba’s elaborate garden scene, we move from the brutality of war to the renewal of life in times of peace. There is nothing like the work of art as a means of preserving the memory of those who were lost along the way.

John McDonald(on behalf of the judges)

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Contributing artistsAek Phakiti The reflective soldierAlan Jones Todd #1Alison Chiam Between 2 worlds: Man and dog in landscape.Amber Martin In his bloodBenjamin Holgate EverymanBeryl Wood Love, hope and the sweet smell of enduranceBill Nix HIGHLY COMMENDED The memorialCraig Handley CenotaphCraig Waddell Wipe away your tearsDavid Curno Am island, am sea, am father, farm, and friendFleur Macdonald Portrait of a lost still llifeGeoff Harvey WINNER Trench intermentGlen Preece Young soldier with water bottleGreg Cliffe Box seat into the breechJoanna Braithwaite Silent partnerJohn Bartley SunsetJohn Colet School Faces of GallipoliJudy Paradice PoppiesJudy Uehlein Nelson The ephemeral poppyJulianne Ross Allcorn Remembering the AE1 & AE2kathleen Walker The cablekerrie Lester Lest we forgetLee Porter Two brothersLeo Robba HIGHLY COMMENDED Garden of remembrance 2012Margaret Hadfield Stepping into the undiminished legacy of 1915Mary Hunt “Afghanistan Dreaming Freedom” Revisits the Spirit of GallipoliMax Berry DaybreakMervyn Appleton The stretcher bearersNeil Laredo A letter homePamela Godsall-Smith As we passed byPaul Ryan I was young when I leftPenny Harkness OfferingPeter Gardiner HIGHLY COMMENDED They wore feathers (Uncle Jim)Peter Smeeth Humanity amidst the carnage (Gallipoli Truce 24th May 1915)Peter Smith Remember me cobberRobyn Sweaney Last light (ubi sunt)Russell Fuller Cpl of the Light Horse – Baluchi (The Spirit is Still Alive)Samuel kirby Beds and burnt woodSema kaynak Images of conflictSharyn Jones Special bondSherwin Peniel Smith The dawn service-reflectionsTannya Harricks The forever dogsThomas Lowe Coo-ee

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AEK PHAKITIThe Reflective Soldier

Oil on canvas100 cm x 100 cm

This painting is dedicated to all the Australian and New Zealand heroes who have sacrificed their lives for perpetual peace and universal freedom. Their courage, respect and love and loyalty of country are very much appreciated by Australian and New Zealand people. This painting is cubist style, inspired by the work of Pablo Picasso. I was particularly thinking of Sir Charles kingsford Smith (1897-1935) when I painted this picture. He was a true Australian hero who in World War I, fought at Gallipoli and flew with Britain’s Royal Flying Corps. However, this painting is entitled “The Reflective Soldier” because this hero can be anyone we know or think of in particular. I tried to imagine what could go in our heroes’ minds during their war duties. Hence, in this painting, many emotional expressions are simultaneously portrayed: braved, strategic, committed, determined, caring, yet cautious, mindful, uncertain and anguished. The colours of the Australian flag as the background reflect the love and pride of the country – the reason why they are out there. I hope that this painting will help us recognise how we have become who we are now and how fortunate we are to have these heroes to protect our countries and regions for perpetual peace and universal freedom.

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Alan JonesTodd #1

Oil and Acrylic on Linen102cm x 97cm

My work explores notions of identity.

My Grandfather passed away when I was 6 years old. For years after my two older brothers (Todd and Darren) and I spent a lot of time at Grandma’s house. We would play in the back yard, riding our bikes and billycarts up and down the gravel driveway, chase the goats and feed the budgies. One of our clearest memories of that time was being fascinated by the uniform Grandad wore as he returned home after serving in the Second World War. I remember his green hat was pulled up on one side.

Todd #1 features my brother Todd. Through this work I aim to communicate to the viewer the special bond that is brotherhood. Over the years Todd and I have loved and loathed each other in almost equal measure. Through good times and bad we have always maintained a fierce loyalty and grudging respect that is unique to brotherhood. We share precious memories of our childhood.

As a young man my Grandfather and many other ANZACs fought for this country’s freedom. Because of that me and my brothers were able to enjoy the innocence of youth in the safety of Grandma’s backyard. The only battles we have seen were on the football field or with each other.

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ALISON CHIAMBetween 2 worlds; Man and dog in landscape

Oil on Board60cm x 80cmn

My work plays with mixing space, form and perspective.

The figure can be seen as fragmented or unified. I see it as representing the coming together of individuals and their special qualities to make a unified whole. The individuals at Gallipoli demonstrated loyalty, respect, love of country, courage and comradeship to create something bigger, and by doing so, left a strong and lasting legacy for all Australians. For me, the actions of those in the Gallipoli Campaign engender deep pride, respect and gratitude.

I wanted to explore the dilemmas faced by these legends that we see as courageous, spirited and strong. The strength and dilemma’s of mateship, the stories of men when injured, needing to leave, but wanting to stay, the return of a soldier and re-assimilation into civil society but shaped by combat and the psychological fracturing of a returned soldier, but who is perceived as strong, brave and capable.

For me it seemed like being between 2 worlds with points of familiarity and congruency but feeling slightly at odds in each.

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AMBER MARTINIn His Blood

Oil on canvas150cm x 92cm

My painting titled: “In His Blood” represents the decades of the ANZAC’s unconditional service. This image is of two soldiers, decades apart but of the same blood line. The ANZAC of the 21st Century; SIG Matthew Thornton is looking into the mirror checking his kit and deployment uniform for Afghanistan.

In that moment, his image splits - his own in the 21st Century and his Great, Great Cousin, PVT Frederick Currey (mother’s line) of the 20th Century, who died of his wounds, aged 21, in the ‘Battle of the Somme’.

Two related Australian soldiers with similar facial features sharing the same eyes; that same regimental stare -face to face, frozen in time, reflected in the mirror. One in remembrance of those who fought and died for the same cause of freedom long ago and the other reflecting that the war was not the war to end all wars and that he would meet his fate on foreign soil.

Two soldiers, decades apart, who signed an oath, prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice in order to keep our shores safe.

The painting is based on a poem by Jeanine Currey called ‘The War To End All Wars, The War To End Terrorism’.

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BEN HOLGATEEveryman

Walnut Ink, Watercolour, Pastel140cm x 40cm

This work takes as its starting point probably the most famous work of art on the subject, George Lambert’s, “Anzac, The Landing 1915” in the Australian War Memorial, Canberra.

In thinking about Lambert’s work, I have tried to broaden the emotional perspective, encompassing his original intent to show heroism and determination forging a new national identity, but also showing other more confronting sides to the ANZAC experience.

The work seeks to show that the landings were carried out by men of every kind. People like you and me; some of whom behaved heroically and some others maybe not. Some triumphed and survived, some suffered wounds, indignity and death and some suffered shock and hallucinations. The work reminds us of all the men who landed and in the foreground figure, acknowledges the first Turkish defenders who were overwhelmed and annihilated.

In using a dip pen and walnut ink, pastels and watercolour, I have sought to reflect the work of those soldier artists who sought to record their experiences in drawings, using materials they might have brought with them from Australia.

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BERYL WOODLove, Hope and the Sweet Smell of Endurance

Acrylic and Paper on Canvas50cm x 76cm

My father-in-law was a young soldier in the 1st World War. Though he rarely spoke of the conditions, he believed that it was the little things that helped the fighting men endure that terrible time. A few words from home, from his loved one kept up his spirits and hope for the future and of course the comradeship. I have emphasised the contact with home in my work. A poem by Isaac Rosenberg reminded me to consider life in the form of Flora, irrespective of its site or the presence of friend or foe, still endured.

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BILL NIXHIGHLY COMMENDED

The Memorial

Oil/Charcoal on Canvas100cm x 100cm

Years ago somewhere north along the New England Highway the family stopped for a break. In the shade where we parked there was a war memorial. As I read down the list of brave young men who had given their lives for their country I noticed two inscriptions of the same surname and my thoughts passed to the family of this double tragedy. I imagined Pop and Ma Sweeny’s dream was that their sons would return and at least one boy would take up the plough. Alas it wasn’t to be. Whether the Sweenys stayed on the farm or moved away, we’ll never know, but what is certain, is that all the families of those heroes fallen lived in the shadow of grief.

Every name (fictitious as they are) inscribed on this and all memorials share sadness. If it wasn’t for these brave men and women who made the sacrifices, fallen or returned, it is unclear whether we would be freely travelling the highways and byways of this great country.

LEST WE FORGET

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CRAIG HANDLEYCenotaph

Oil40cm x 50cm

When I was at school I played the cornet in the school band. Part of the annual roster involved marching and playing for Anzac Day. Every year was the same routine; we would start with the local dawn service, and then make our way into the city to march with the parade. We would do laps, meaning we would do one pass then tear back up the backstreets to join the parade again. I think we managed to do this four times one year. Whenever I see a Cenotaph, be it this one which is in North Sydney, or one that I might see while travelling about the place, I always remember those days with great clarity.

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CRAIG WADDELLWipe Away Your Tears

Oil on Linen190cm x 140cm

In response to the battle of Gallipoli I wanted to create a work that reflects my current art practice and pays homage and respect to the many lives that have been lost in battle. ‘Wipe Away Your Tears’ is a painting of remembrance. Telopea Speciosissima is the flower form I have used in my painting. Telopea is derived from the Greek telopos, meaning “seen from afar.” Speciosissima is the superlative of the Latin speciosus, meaning “beautiful” or “handsome.” In this painting, the Telopea Speciosissima thrusts upwards towards the sky, moving in a positive direction, as did the men of Gallipolis. It appears almost heavenly bound and floats on a light sea of grey, pink and blues. The word Telopea meaning seen from afar describes the way these young soldiers must have felt in retrospect, or maybe this is the distant memory, their love ones held from afar. Speciosus meaning ‘beautiful’ or handsome is the perfect image of these young soldiers before they went off to war. They left to fight for their country, young, beautiful and free with adventure in their hearts and soul, this is the way we shall remember them like the floating Telopea Speciosissima thrusting forward and upwards.

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DAVID J CURNOAm island, am sea, am father, farm, and friend

Water Colour, Gouche & Ink on Paper140cm x 110cm

The Gallipoli Memorial Club’s creed for the community, has parallels with the attributes found in international sport, those of loyalty, respect, love of country, courage and comradeship.

The last line of the club’s creed has inspired the use of sportsmen in the work, ‘Am island, am sea, am father, farm, and friend’, with the phrase ‘perpetual peace and universal freedom’, because it is without peace and freedom, there would be no sport to enjoy.

The photograph that this painting is based on, is of the lifting of two men in the heat of battle, two men that represented their respective nations proudly on the sporting field, Australian, John Eales (AM), Wallaby Rugby World Cup captain and New Zealand’s equally inspirational All Black Ian Jones (MNZM). This painting is less about the parallels between war and sport and more about the fact we have the freedom to be able to play and enjoy things in life, like sport, thanks to the sacrifice of veterans past.

The title , ‘Am island, am sea, am father, farm, and friend’, is the third to last line in Allen Curnow’s poem, ‘Time’.

David J Curno is an Auckland based artist, currently studying the final year of a four year degree, Elam School of Fine Arts, Auckland University. He lives in the Sir James Wallace residence, ‘Rannoch’, which houses one of the country’s most extensive private, contemporary art collections. He has a diploma in Graphic Design from NATCOL. His only child was born in Paddington’s Royal Hospital for Women, when he lived and worked in Sydney for a decade through the 80’s and 90’s. He spent two years in Melbourne prior to Sydney and has been exhibiting his art throughout New Zealand since 1995.

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FLEUR MACDONALD Portrait of a Lost Still Life

Oil on Canvas61cm x 76 cm

“Portrait of a Lost Still Life” was my direct response to information found on my Great Uncle Private Walter Bradley kay, of the 15th Battalion. A.I.F who was killed in action ‘In the Field’ Pozieres, Somme Sector, France on the 9th August 1916.

Walter kay was born in 1890 in Proserpine, Queensland; he was married with no children but elder brother to two brothers and four sisters including my mother’s mother.

His journey started on board the HMAT A48 Seang Bee which embarked from Brisbane, Queensland on the 2nd October 1915 and his journey ended with his name placed with 10,884 other names on the walls of The Australian National Memorial who were killed in France and who have no known grave.

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GEOFF HARVEYWINNER

Trench Interment

Acrylic, Pastel, Rust on Canvas95cm x 200cm

My work looks at the relics & artifacts of war to tell the story of Gallipoli.

“Trenched interment” symbolizes the aftermath of this conflict.

Entombed & preserved like an archeological time capsule are the faded & weathered remains that tell the story of the solders existence below the ground.

Here they lived, eat, slept, fort & often died in those sand bagged fortified trenches.

Surrounded by the hardware of war, the ammunition, digging implements, spanners & their personal belongs are etched by time & history into the fabric of my canvas.

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GLEN PREECEYoung soldier with water bottle

Oil on Linen84cnm x 84cm

My father was a Sergeant Major based in south west Sydney. I spent my early childhood exploring the hundreds of acres of bush surrounding our village and quite, often my brothers and I would find discarded old things from wars past.

Old canvas bags with brass buckles. Helmets’ with rotted chin straps and sometimes, our prize, deep blue enamel water bottles. They were covered in dull green blanket with long hardened leather straps.

We would spend long summer days, armed with sticks for guns hiding in an abandoned trench pretending that we were young soldiers with water bottles.

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GREG CLIFFEBox Seat into the Breech

Oil on Canvas122cm x 91cm

I became interested in Gallipoli and the Western Front through Family research when I discovered that my wife and I had 2 grandparents, 2 great uncles, 3 uncles and a British second cousin involved in service in the Middle East and the Western Front during the First World War.

Fortunately only two of these men were killed in action. They were both killed in trench warfare, bombed in trenches at Fleurbaix/ Fromelles and the Sommes. One of these soldiers served at both Gallipoli and then backed up on the Western Front in the 5th AIF, 53rd Battalion in 1916 before his death.

So traumatic were the battles that several of the 5 surviving ancestors experienced life-long illnesses and injury, both physical and psychological. This had profound effects on successive generations, one man’s entire family becoming wards of the state because he was incapable of caring for them after his wife died.

In “Box Seat into the breech” I have endeavoured to show how at the commencement of hostilities with the Central Powers, many at home failed to understand the amount of courage, loyalty and sacrifice that would be required of its’ soldiers in the face of a mechanised war of attrition. Only those who fought could truly foresee how the world would be changed forever by the devastation of these battles.

Greg Cliffe.

Relatives in the First World War:

Walter Cliffe 1st Battery 1st FAB

Arthur Cliffe 2nd Division Signal Company AE

Lawrence Edward Cliffe 7/25 Battalion –Aust Veterinary Hospital.

John Reed 2nd Division Ammunition .

Herbert Reed, 53rd Battalion AIF. Gallipoli &Fleurbaix/ Fromelles, Sapper. Sidney Reed, 4th Division Train Driver.

Lawrence Edward Cliffe 7/25 Battalion –Aust Veterinary Hospital.

John Reed 2nd Division Ammunition .

Herbert Reed, 53rd Battalion AIF. Gallipoli &Fleurbaix/ Fromelles, Sapper. Sidney Reed, 4th Division Train Driver.

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JOANNA BRAITHWAITESilent Partner

Oil on canvas112cm x 112cm

In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends. – Martin Luther king, Jr.

Endeavoring to paint Simpson’s famous donkey is a path well trodden like those the trusty beast carried the wounded along through Shrapnel Gully at Gallipoli.

To consider the enormous, emotional support the quiet, solid donkey was in such dreadful circumstances is also to try to understand the relationship between a man and an animal.

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JOHN BARTLEYSunset

Acrylic on polyester – Wax varnish35.5cm x 38.5cm

I have been to Gallipoli in 1982.There was no-one there.I walked the battlefield & looked at the beach from the high Turkish positions.It was an emotion filled day.Young men fighting for their countries.I have been to Ataturks Mausoleum in Ankara.

Seen his pyjamas and the many other “western style” things he liked.He seemed to be a good man who was trying to save what was left of Turkey.

My Grandfather was a Light Horseman who died young.My father & uncle went to New Guinea in the same regiment.They loved the Anzac day March and the gathering of mates.I took my then three old son to the march in a stroller, after the death of them both. Someone gave him a piece of rosemary to hold and he held that rosemary in quiet reflection for hours.It was another emotion filled day.

I like my painting.For reasons I do not quite understand, only that it hits a cord within me that resonates with loss and sadness.

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JOHN COLET SCHOOLFaces of Gallipoli

Water colour, canvas

This year the Year 6 students looked at portraiture and the different servicemen and women who served in WW1and the hats worn.

They looked at the use of colour and the shapes that can make up a face. Each picture created is inspired from a photo of a serving soldier, nurse and each tells a story. Each face is set into 9”x5” as the artists who created artworks on cigar box lids did in 1889.

The students studied these pictures drawing the final piece freehand and then hand colouring as they would have done in the photos of that era.

As a class they looked at and were inspired by works from 2 Australian artists and the 9x5 Artists

Sydney Nolan’s Gallipoli series

9x5 Exhibition of Impressions 1889

Ben Quilty, current Australian War Artist

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JUDY PARADICEPoppies

50cm x 40cm

November is poppy month, the time of the year when by the wearing of a simple emblem, a red poppy, we salute the memory of those who sacrificed their health, their strength, even their lives, that we might live in a free Country.

John McCrae’s Poem ‘Flanders Fields’ was the inspiration for my painting.

In Flanders Fields

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie,

In Flander’s Fields.

John McCrae, 1915

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Judy Uehlein NelsonThe Ephemeral poppy

Acrylic on canvas triptych213cm x 71cm

“As a garden poppy, burst into red bloom, bends, drooping its head to one side, weighed down by its full seeds and a sudden spring shower, so Gorgythion’s head fell limp over one shoulder, weighed down by his helmet.”

(extract from Homer’s ‘Iliad’, Book VIII)

Top left panel: The figure of Britannia has been compared to the goddess Minerva in Homer’s Iliad. Britain’s allegorical figure was shown as a figurehead on the official next of kin plaque, known as the ‘dead man’s penny’, which included the words, ‘He died for freedom and honour’.

Lower middle panel: Rain, so necessary to sustain life, unfortunately contributed to the physical suffering at the Western Front. It was the letters and newspapers from home that sustained the belief that the soldiers were there fighting to protect and preserve a remembered way of life.

Top right panel: The poppy, associated with Remembrance Day, is one of the few plants to grow where earth has been disturbed, such as the craters on battlefields. The tomb of the Unknown Soldier is the result of a parent losing a son, a soldier losing a mate, the frightful loss of war.

Three panels, one composition, a representation that shows the fragility and preciousness of life.

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JULIANNE ROSS ALLCORNRemembering the AE1 and the AE2

Oil & Pencil/Mixed MediaAE1

A-Australia; E for ‘E’ Class submarine and number 1 as in the first submarine for the Royal Australian Navy

AE2

A-Australia; ‘E’ for E Class submarine and number 2 in the Royal Australian Navy

The drawing in between the paintings of the AE1 and AE2 shows a cross section of the ‘E’ type submarines that Australia had in WW1.

The AE1 and AE2 are connected in a strange way for me.

The AE1 was the first unit of the Australian Fleet to be lost and the first allied submarine loss of the war on 13 September 1914 off the Duke of York Islands near Rabaul, PNG. All 35 men were lost; this amounted to half the submarine force.

I was born and spent my early life in Rabaul and the history of this town and region is so intertwined with both world wars it never stops intriguing me and inspiring me in my artwork.

I first heard about the AE2 in 2010 at Lone Pine Dinner held at the Gallipoli Memorial Club when Elizabeth Brenchley gave her talk on the book “Stoker’s Men”, which is based on the adventures of the AE2 and the men who served on her. The AE2 was also assigned with the AE1 to capture the German colonies of New Guinea in 1914. On 31st December 1914 The AE2 was sent to the Middle East with written orders to penetrate the Dardenelles.

In this artwork I have tried to depict the submarines at full throttle moving toward or away from their intended destinations.

The Images of the Men

I have only a few photos of the men who were lost on the AE1 but have one photo of all the men assembled. All were lost at sea and there are still attempts trying to find the last resting place of the AE1.

The AE2 I have all photos of the men who served her. All 32 crew safely exited the craft and were taken prisoners of war. Stoker sent the AE2 on her last and deepest dive and final resting place.

I have hand coloured these images and placed them under their respective submarine so when you look at the submarines you have contact with those who were on board.

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KATHLEEN WALKERThe Cable

Charcoal61cm x 80cm

kath Walker painted this picture to demonstrate the techniques of charcoal drawing to her students at the Sunshine Beach Primary School.

The painting celebrates the receiving of the cable stating that the war was over.

“The students didn’t know what a cable was until I explained that it was similar to an email – Then the penny dropped!!

I told them that the soldiers were happy as the war was over and they would soon be going home to their families in Australia, New Zealand and Turkey.”

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KERRIE LESTERLest We Forget

Mixed Media – Oil Paint on Canvas – Hand Stitched77cm x 102cm

The repetition of war badges collected over time serves to exaggerate and therefore bring to our attention the various faculties of war, whilst the Queens insignia reminds us who we fight in the name of.

The incendiary light forming a halo around the trees reflects on the burnt decay and destruction that followed battle while their strong roots and branches talk of new life and hopeful beginnings.

Planted in Memoriam, these trees serve as a poignant reminder of so many young lives lost.

Created in the present Lest we forget looks back towards the war, conscious of our legacy of peace.

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LEE PORTERTwo Brothers

Graphite on Watercolour Paper69cm x 71cm (Framed behind non reflective glass)

The two brothers Algernon (in Pith Helmet) and Ernest Pilcher were musicians from Capeville, Pentland. Both men were members of 3rd Field Ambulance, Australian Army Medical Corps during their time at Gallipoli. Ernest died of wounds 25/06/18 near Bois Sec, Northern France.

The brothers often wrote home and the drawing is based on their letters and photographs provided by Algernon’s Grandson, Ross Pilcher. Some of the letters were in Morse code as a family member at home could read it. They have been deciphered and included in the following extract from letters from the Brothers. The image also includes Algernon holding a Clarinet which he took with him to Gallipoli and Ernie is holding a handmade Violin from a Fry’s Chocolate Box.

I have tried to keep a resemblance to the faces of the Brothers based on photographs supplied and created the drawing to look like a happy image of the Brothers as they would not send home pictures of death or war but an image that reassures their loved ones that they are fine and in good spirits.

Extract from a letter written by Ernie to his brother Leon (Len,) 16/05/15

Dear Leon,

Now to make an attempt to answer yours of March 5th, but I’m afraid there is but little to talk about.

(Translation of code follows.) Soldiering is not the game we thought it was going to be. It’s not all honey. As you suppose our landing was a frightful undertaking. Mere words cannot describe it.

(I’d better revert once more to the handy scribble. If the censors get hold of this they will probably pen it out.) I won’t try to describe anything by letter but will tell you all about everything when we get back. But you will hear about the bravery of our Infantry boys, how they routed the Turks off the surrounding hills like rabbits. I think I told you before how we landed with the Infantry being of the 3rd Brigade, so got the benefit of a heavy fire. We went ashore in barges under fire all the way, got out in deep water. I got winged before we hopped it. I flowed through that water like an aeroplane and didn’t wait to crawl up the beach like some of them did but made a bold bid for cover and got it too. It was poor cover though and they could reach us from both flanks, but after a time the Turks were ousted off the hills and we were only troubled with a few snipers. I only regret I saw so little of and did so little in the great undertaking. The farm boys are still fighting hard.

Extract from a letter written by Ernie to his father Richard.

“I’ve got a jake fiddle now. A great improvement on the original model. Still originating from a chocolate box for the greater part, but embodying better woods. I take it out some times. It proves a great aid in charming the froggy females. They take a fancy to the fiddle first and me after. Of course this doesn’t necessarily always follow. Some of the dears have an ear for music. Well, you can guess what that means. The band won’t play tonight!”

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LEO ROBBAHIGHLY COMMENDED

Garden of Remembrance, 2012

Oil on Canvas170cm x 116cm

My painting ‘Garden of Remembrance, 2012’ is based on a real garden, which I happened upon in a churchyard on a recent painting trip.

What interests me about gardens is that, as has often been stated, in many ways they are like paintings: composed views that reflect time and place, culture and human emotion. They also contain memories that express the past, and through their connection with nature they express life. Through life, growth and re-growththey also represent our present and more importantly our future.

Garden culture, like war is deeply embedded in human history and when I think about war, its’ effects and the many emotional consequences of war I feel gardens offer a bridge to our emotions. Gardens too, symbolise our spiritual relationship with the world and offer potential for thoughts and feelings such as hope, renewal, remembrance and respect. As well gardens are very special places that offer us a sense of peace and a chance to reflect and through gardens, in remembering those who have died, we can celebrate life.

In essence, when I think about war, I think about life and when I think about life, I think about gardens.

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MARGARET HADFIELDStepping into the Undiminished Legacy of 1915

Oil163cm x 113cm

The Gallipoli landscape is spectacular but holds the blood and spirit of far too many young men. The greatest loss being Turkey itself (estimate 100,000). My visit to Gallipoli unleashed an interest in military history that I didn’t see coming. This painting explores how that landscape effected me - surrounded by images and spirits from the year 1915.

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MARY HUNT“Afghanistan Dreaming Freedom” Revisits the Spirit of Gallipoli

Acrylic on Canvas61cm x 61cm

The Australian soldier is once again on foreign soil fighting for freedom and human rights as expressed in the ideals of the Gallipoli Club’s “Creed”.

The cultural uniform of the woman symbolises their oppression by the Taliban.

The women, like the Australian Military Forces are dreaming of perpetual peace and universal freedom.

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MAX BERRYDaybreak

Acrylic on Timber60cm x 60cm

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MERVYN APPLETONThe Stretcher Bearers

Oil56cm x 71cm

My painting is a symbolic tribute to all the stretcher bearers in war and peace.

In my painting, the stretcher bearers rescue a fallen mate from the terrors of the battlefield, armed only with a first-aid kit and a Red Cross armband.

The fire-fighters, police and paramedics of today, selflessly risk their own lives amongst the unknown dangers of bushfires, floods and earthquakes. These men and women all continue to uphold the Club’s “Creed” of loyalty and respect for their fellow men. They continue the true ANZAC spirit of courage, mateship and bravery forged on the shores of Gallipoli.

I would hope that my great uncle Charlie Appleton heard the stretcher bearer’s call “We’ll help you digger” as he lay mortally wounded on the ‘Daisy Patch’ at Helles, his mother would have hoped for this too.

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NEIL LAREDOA Letter Home

Oil60cm x 90cm

Still today the letter is the thread between family and loved ones, conveying the inner most thoughts and allowing one to escape reality for a brief moment.

I can remember my early days, when at 17 years of age I joined the Air Force and left home for the first time, the hope of a letter, the anticipation of news that would transport you home for that brief moment. I can only imagine what the importance of receiving a letter from home would have meant to those serving overseas during those dark days when our youth was at war.

At the arrival of mail there would have been excitement at the anticipation of reading news from home and loved ones, a time to escape reality. After reading the letter a longing for home and family would overcome you, a sense of loneliness, it is then a time to keep those words close and to find time to answer. As your hand moves across the paper and you contemplate each word it is a chance to be close for a moment longer.

The Letters of this period are often used to demonstrate the compassion and courage of a young nation that is now part of the Australian Identity.

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PAMELA J. GODSALL-SMITHAs We Passed By

Acrylic50cm x 560cm

In September 1940 in Northam W.A. the 2/16th R.A.R. marched through town on their way to embarkation.

My father, Geoffrey Godsall, a Queenslander, was commissioned in 1938 and was Adjutant of the Regiment. My mother, Joan, a Canberra girl, traveled to Perth to marry him.

The day they marched out she climbed onto the roof of the Northam Hotel and recorded the regiment on its way to the railway station. The fascinating small black and white photo also captured the frieze of people assembled to watch these young men pass by. In so many places all over Australia similar scenes were taking place.

Mother and other new wives drove alongside the train to Fremantle. The young men cheered and hallooed to them throughout the journey, as if off to a party.

The 2/16th served with distinction in Egypt, and New Guinea. Few returned.

In 2011 my family and mother (92) witnessed a plaque dedication to the 2/16th at the Australian War Memorial. Memorably, we met a man who, as a young Corporal with his troop, exhaustedly defended the kokoda Track with only a log between them and the invaders.

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PAUL RYANI Was Young When I Left Home

Oil on linen213cm x 122cm

I was young when I left home.An’ I been out ramblin roundAn’ I never wrote a letter to my homeTo my home lord to my homeAn’ I never wrote a letter to my home

Bob Dylan

A beautiful young manAt the very moment he faces mortality,Both his and his enemies Young no more

35

PENNY HARKNESSOffering

Ink on Arches Paper100cm x 56cm

Great tragedy and sacrifice are the eventual causes for celebration and joy because of the new life and community they create. Even small personal acts of giving and sacrifice enable our human condition to transcend mediocrity and enable us most fully to realize our dignity and our freedom.

“Affirmation of life even in its strangest and sternest problems, the will to life rejoicing in its own inexhaustibility through the sacrifice of its’ highest types ...” Nietzsche

36

PETER GARDINERHIGHLY COMMENDED

They Wore Feathers (Uncle Jim)

Oil on Canvas130cm x 100cm

37

PETER SMEETHHumanity Amidst the Carnage

(Gallipoli Truce 24th May 1915)

Oil on Canvas75cm x 60cm

This painting is about the Truce called by the Turks on the 24th May 1915 to bury their 3,000 dead from the battle for Second Ridge.

A Turkish officer looking at the horrific scene of carnage left by the battle remarked that, “At this spectacle even the most gentle must feel savage and the most savage must weep”.

History tells us that many soldiers from both sides used this break in the hostilities to fraternise and swap badges and cigarettes and this painting depicts a young Turkish soldier and a young Australian soldier exchanging water and a cigarette.

This display of humanity, civility and mutual respect shows that the common soldiers on both sides had no quarrel with each other and were in a situation not of their choosing.

Once the horrendous task of burying the dead was completed the troops were sent back to their trenches to resume the horrible obscene business of war.

38

PETER C. SMITHRemember me Cobber

Acrylic on Canvas Board59cm x 30cm

The work was inspired by an early childhood memory of mine whilst living in Port Adelaide. I was taken aback by the many older men horribly disfigured and disabled by their experience of war, Fromelles and Gallipoli in particular.

I was lost in the vision of those poor fellows who suffered the loss of the lower half of their bodies and got around on boards on wheels.

One such gentleman was named old Doc and would stop and chat at the front gate with my grandfather Frank who served in New Guinea in WW2.

Old Doc was a survivor of the Gallipoli campaign and told me of the saddest work detail that he endured during stint.

This I hope is depicted in this work.

ROBYN SWEANEYLast Light (ubi sunt)

Acrylic on Canvas56cm x 67cms

When travelling through rural NSW and Victoria on my way to visit family, I cannot help but notice the soldier memorial buildings that are such a common feature of Australian country towns. These structures are usually well maintained and still a hub for social and cultural activities.

These (sometimes) modest structures, constructed after wars, were not commemorating war and conquest. Communities built them because they wanted to remember the sacrifices that were made by men and women for future generations to live in peace and to remember that life is so transient. These constructions are symbolic testimonials of strong community spirit, evoke memory and retain a strong legacy of heart-felt emotion for local lives lost.

My father and his father enlisted and served in the two of the great wars of the Twentieth Century.

My grandfather served in the 59th Battalion of the AIF, which fought in France and Belgium, where he was wounded and gassed. The poppies in this painting are a dedication to him and the thousands of others who were not so lucky and lost their lives on those muddy fields.

This painting is my ubi sunt to those who didn’t come home.

39

RUSSELL K. FULLERCpl of the Light Horse – Baluchi (The Spirit is Still Alive)

Acrylic100cm x 82cm

This is a painting of a friend of mine Dougy, a member of 2/14 light horse regiment. This portrait reflects the steely resolve and determination that he shared with the members of the regiment during his tour of duty.

It was on this tour that we lost a very good trooper “popy”, to a double stacked IED. Popy’s death was very hard to take. “Popy was a real morale boost when things were down, he was always around with a laugh” But take it he did and as hard as it was, Dougy got on with the job at hand as did the squadron.

I have portrayed Dougy in the last part of his tour, after the loss of his mate Popy. At this time the thought of going home was stalking about in the back of his mind, and he needed all of his reserves to remain focussed. Loyalty, courage and mateship got him through.

40

Samuel KirbyBeds and Burnt Wood

Oil on Canvas50cm x 61cm

Concepts of collective national memory/identity and themes of aural history inform the work Beds and burnt wood.

“Memory-feelings” a term used by Author kenneth Pople to describe artist Stanley Spencer’s work, is used to talk about a transitional thought process that involves possessing a memory, and recreating its feelings or “essence” through art. In Beds and burnt wood, I have undertaken a similar process and emotionally reacted to my experience of the collective memory of the ANZAC’s.

41

42

SEMA KAYNAKImages of Conflict

Charcoal and Watercolour113cm x 32cm

I have experimented with photocopied images of conflict, devastation and human suffering to develop a set of intriguing drawings where realism and abstraction are woven into a metaphorical web that suggests the disjointed memories of a survivor. I have used a subtle combination of muted colours to describe a devastated landscape. These mediated images come from a variety of historical sources beginning with research into the experiences of soldiers at Gallipoli in association with Australian values and those of my ancestral culture, Turkey.

43

SHARYN JONESSpecial Bond

Acrylic30cm x 43cm

Saddened while looking at photos of my nephew and his mates huddled around a small fire in the freezing desert of Afghanistan on Christmas Eve, I comforted myself with the thought that he and these mates will forever share a special bond.

I thought of them again when seeing these two old diggers greet each other at the Anzac Day march at Barraba – a small town in rural NSW.

They were young soldiers once, like my nephew.

Someone said “You left their heads out”. But I felt that having the heads in the painting would have defined it as these particular two men. I wanted the painting to represent all of our diggers regardless of the geography or the date of their service.

The clasped hands tell of the tears and sadness, the goodness, the courage, the loyalty… the special bond that is truly the spirit of Gallipoli.

44

Sherwin Peniel SmithThe Dawn Service –Reflections

Gouache on Canvas65cm x 90cm

The historical anecdote on how the Dawn service came into being written by Peter FitzSimons provided the inspiration for this painting. His words were so evocative that visual images just leapt out of the page.

The top third of my painting is of the event that was to produce the impetus for the creation of the Dawn Service.

The next panel shows past groups and families from both sides reflecting through the mists of time.

The final band shows the Dawn Service as it is today. It depicts how all Australians no matter their nationality come together to reflect on the courage and sacrifice that symbolises the Anzac spirit.

Lest We Forget

45

TANNYA HARRICKSThe Forever Dogs

Oil on Fabric (stretched and sealed)120cm x 75cm

A confident and optimistic young NZ Major flanked by his best mates and posing for a photo before heading to battle at Gallipoli.

The painting process brought me closer to his story and the story of every man who fought at Gallipoli and didn’t make it home. It made me thankful for the freedoms and opportunities my sons have growing up in Australia today.

My use of the French fabric represents the idea of the exotic, European travel experience that war offered young men and is also a metaphor for the striped war ribbons awarded for bravery and heroism.

I have been painting dogs and their relationships with humans for a while now.

Dogs and humans have cohabitated for around 15,000 years through the worst and best of human history. The dogs in my painting could represent loved ones left behind at home or comrades on the front line. Dogs keep us grounded in reality and remind us that life isn’t sanitised. Just like war – life is sometimes muddy, loud and unfathomable. Dogs also show us the true meaning of unconditional respect, love and loyalty. The canine companions in my painting sadly outlived their master.

46

THOMAS LOWECoo-ee

Acrylic on Canvas60cm x 90cm

This work is a relatively faithful interpretation of one of the Anzac Campaign’s contemporary recruitment posters.

As an observer, I find that particular artistic style of the early twentieth century uniquely interesting in both historical and aesthetic terms. Without today’s modern means of mass communication, the poster was perhaps then the most effective way of advertising for enlistment and as such its’ message was powerful and visually direct.

However, with hindsight we can witness the terrible human consequences of the First World War, and so the irony of the poster’s wording hits home. It is this aspect, with its’ particularly Australian “Catch-Cry”, and the resultant courage of those who responded to it which I hope forms the main emphasis of the picture.

“Some turn up in tears,” said John Szetu, the club’s secretary-manager.

“It has been burning inside them for years, and the competition is an outlet for them to express it.

“It’s a release, a burden off their shoulders.“They have done something for their forefathers.“Their paintings are a mark of respect.“And every picture has a story.”The artists get a chance to tell those stories in words as well as

pictures.It’s unusual for art competitions to invite the painters to write a few

accompanying paragraphs, but in this context it works brilliantly.The words at times can be as poignant as the images, helping to

explain or illuminate the motivation behind the brush strokes.Chances are the entry is inspired by or dedicated to one of the

102,000 Diggers to have sacrificed their lives in war.In that respect, this year’s finalists are no different.Amber Martin’s “In His Blood” is a typical example.It shows modern day soldier Matthew Thornton looking into a mirror

and seeing his image split, half of it morphing into his great, great cousin, private Frederick Currey, who died of wounds at the Somme, aged 21.

“They are two related Australian soldiers with similar facial features and the same eyes,” she said, “who decades apart signed an oath, prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice in order to keep our shores safe.”

Alan Jones was inspired by his grandfather,a World War Two veteran.“Because of him and many other Anzacs, me and my brothers

were able to enjoy the innocence of youth in the safety of grandma’s backyard,” wrote the Sydney painter.

“The only battles we have seen were on the football field or with each other.”

Queenslander Beryl Wood, whose father-in-law fought in World War One, painted a soldier in the trenches reading a letter from home, surrounded by floating scraps of the letter, perhaps blasted apart.

“Though he rarely spoke of the conditions, he believed it was the little things that helped the fighting men endure that terrible time,” she commented.

Sydneysider Bill Nix remembered stopping at an Anzac memorial in northern NSW on a family holiday and pondering the double tragedy indicated by the same surname, Sweeny, appearing twice on the memorial plaque.

“I imagined that Pop and Ma Sweeny’s dream was that their sons would return and at least one boy would take up the plough,” he said.

“Alas, it wasn’t to be. Whether the Sweenys stayed on the farm or moved away we’ll never know, but what is certain is that all of the

families of those heroes fallen lived in the shadow of grief.”John Bartley, whose grandfather was a Light Horseman who died

young, has painted a blood-red work entitled “Sunset”.“I like my painting for reasons I do not quite understand,” said the

country NSW artist, “only that it hits a chord within me that resonates with loss and sadness.”

Canberra’s Margaret Hadfield, winner of the inaugural Gallipoli art prize in 2006, has painted a modern visitor at Anzac Cove surrounded by images and spirits from the battles of 1915.

“The Gallipoli landscape is spectacular but holds the blood and spirit of far too many young men,” she said.

“My visit unleashed an interest in military history that I didn’t see coming.”

New Zealander Mervyn Appleton painted stretcher bearers whose call “We’ll help you Digger” he hoped was heard on the battlefield by his great uncle Charlie Appleton.

Robyn Sweaney of Mullumbimby, NSW, dedicated the poppies in her “Last Light” to her grandfather, who fought in France and Belgium, and the thousands of others “who were not so lucky and lost their lives on those muddy fields”.

Manilla, NSW, artist Sharyn Jones said her painting of a handshake, “Special Bond”, sprang from the sadness she felt looking at photos of her hephew and his mates huddled around a campfire in the freezing desert of Afghanistan one Christmas eve.

One of the judges, John McDonald, said he could not fail to be touched by the number of artists whose relatives fought for their country.

“The prize has given these artists a reason to reflect on the sacrifices and hardships shared by Australian and also Turkish soldiers,” he said.

“This is not the same as choosing a famous face to paint for the Archibald or a landscape for the Wynne.”

The Gallipoli art prize is not restricted to Gallipoli or to scenes of battle but honours the artist whose work best expresses the club’s creed of loyalty, respect, courage, comradeship, peace and freedom.

It’s about keeping those values alive, so that they aren’t lost like the objects entombed in the trenches depicted by Sydney painter Geoff Harvey in his archeology-inspired work “Trench Interment”.

“Here they lived, ate, slept, fought and often died, surrounded by the hardware of war,” Harvey said.

“The ammunition, the digging implements, spanners and their personal belongings are etched by time and history into the fabric of my canvas.”

Perhaps it’s an artist’s way of saying: Lest we forget.

Reproduced with permission of Australian Associated Press

Art can move the observer to tears, but is there a competition quite like the Gallipoli prize for moving the artists to tears? Those who enter are paying tribute, as often as not, to a long-lost relative who was shot dead at Anzac Cove or gassed on the Somme or bombed at Ypres. The artists may have carried around their loss, hurt and

heartbreak for years or even decades. The chance to paint it out seems to be a way of cleansing the soul. In some cases the sorrow and anguish all but seep from the canvas and weep from the walls. The tears are not all metaphorical. It is not uncommon for artists to deliver their works in person at Sydney’s Gallipoli Memorial Club, sponsor of the $20,000 prize, and to sob in the act of handing them over.

By Doug Conway, AAP, Senior Correspondent, SYDNEY, April 5 2012

Gallipoli Art Break

Gallipoli Memorial Club Museum Fund Inc