Ben Quilty - After Afghanistan
BEN QUILTY - After Afghanistan
Captain S After Afghanistan, Ben Quilty 2012, oil on linen, 140 x 190 cm
Ben Quilty brings his highly regarded exhibition, After Afghanistan, to Griffith University Art Gallery from the 11th of April to the 7th of June. The painter travelled to Afghanistan in 2011 as the Australian War Memorial’s official war artist and his exhibition reflects his time there. Strong masculinity is a common theme explored by Quilty; this is in contrasts to this exhibition which contains large canvases which are plastered with chaotic, fleshy impasto oil paint to create portraits of soldiers who are vulnerable in the landscape of war.
It can be seen at first glance that Quilty is looking at what is hidden underneath the imposing masculine uniforms of war. Quilty painted the portraits of the soldiers from live sittings during which he conversed with them openly about their experience in warzones in Afghanistan. As Quilty wanted to avoid creating the traditional heroic male stereotype soldier, he allowed the soldiers to determine their own pose for the painting based on their authentic experience of war. Quilty asked them to pose naked as he wished to show the frailty of the soldiers through the human skin; Quilty captured this in the fleshy colours and human-like lines he created on the canvas.
Captain S. After Afghanistan is a portrait in the exhibition. ‘The pose for this painting was chosen by Captain S and reflects a memorable and terrifying experience he had as an officer in the Australian Army in 2011,’ says Quilty (Quilty,2012) . ‘Under constant fire from insurgents in the Helmand Province in Afghanistan, Captain S spent 18 hours taking cover behind a low mud-brick wall.” (year) Quilty has predominantly used white and intermediate reds in the body of Captain S, colours which are associated with blemishes and weakness in skin, thus symbolising the vulnerability of the soldiers beneath their protective uniforms and armour. Though the work
Captain S After Afghanistan, Ben Quilty 2012, oil on linen, 140 x 190 cm
Ben Quilty brings his highly regarded exhibition, After Afghanistan, to Griffith University Art Gallery from the 11th of April to the 7th of June. The painter travelled to Afghanistan in 2011 as the Australian War Memorial’s official war artist and his exhibition reflects his time there. Strong masculinity is a common theme explored by Quilty; this is in contrasts to this exhibition which contains large canvases which are plastered with chaotic, fleshy impasto oil paint to create portraits of soldiers who are vulnerable in the landscape of war.
It can be seen at first glance that Quilty is looking at what is hidden underneath the imposing masculine uniforms of war. Quilty painted the portraits of the soldiers from live sittings during which he conversed with them openly about their experience in warzones in Afghanistan. As Quilty wanted to avoid creating the traditional heroic male stereotype soldier, he allowed the soldiers to determine their own pose for the painting based on their authentic experience of war. Quilty asked them to pose naked as he wished to show the frailty of the soldiers through the human skin; Quilty captured this in the fleshy colours and human-like lines he created on the canvas.
Captain S. After Afghanistan is a portrait in the exhibition. ‘The pose for this painting was chosen by Captain S and reflects a memorable and terrifying experience he had as an officer in the Australian Army in 2011,’ says Quilty (Quilty,2012) . ‘Under constant fire from insurgents in the Helmand Province in Afghanistan, Captain S spent 18 hours taking cover behind a low mud-brick wall.” (year) Quilty has predominantly used white and intermediate reds in the body of Captain S, colours which are associated with blemishes and weakness in skin, thus symbolising the vulnerability of the soldiers beneath their protective uniforms and armour. Though the work