29 July – 10 September
Art in Conflict is a new touring exhibition of contemporary art from the collection of the Australian War Memorial. Three major new bodies of work debut in this exhibition: two recent official war art commissions – Susan Norrie (Iraq, 2016) and Megan Cope (Middle East, 2017) – and a landmark commemorative work by Angelica Mesiti. The tour launches at the Shepparton Art Museum, VIC on 26 March 2022.
A showcase of diverse responses to war, the exhibition includes more than seventy paintings, drawings, films, prints, photography and sculptures. Leading Australian artists are represented, such as Khadim Ali, Rushdi Anwar, eX de Medici, Denise Green, Richard Lewer, Mike Parr and Ben Quilty. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art, a collection priority for the Memorial in recent years, is featured, with works by Tony Albert, Paddy Bedford, Robert Campbell Jr, Michael Cook, Shirley Macnamara and Betty Muffler.
Supported by research from an Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage Project, the exhibition highlights how war art can lead us to consider different ways of thinking about current and recent conflicts, inviting us to consider perspectives we might not otherwise encounter.
PUBLIC PROGRAM
Saturday 2 September at 3pm
Join artist Dacchi Deng as he discusses his work in the exhibition Art in Conflict. Deng’s practice concentrates on the relationship between Australians and the South Vietnamese veterans and these works represent the first substantial acquisition for the Memorial’s collection from the Vietnamese–Australian perspective on the Vietnam War.
image: Megan Cope (Quandamooka people) (b. 1982) Flight or Fight #1 Old Rivers, Deep Water (Lake Qadisiya & Lake Assad) 2018–2019 engine oil, ink and acrylic on paper and linen, mounted on North Stradbroke Island blue gum 121 x 103 cm Australian War Memorial