2015
04.22
04.22
TIME TO BRING THIS OUT AGAIN, WITH ANZAC DAY IMMINENT.
(please click on image to enlarge)
Herewith a detail of my painting “FOREVER YOUNG.” – it was my “Artist of the Month” painting at Bundaberg Regional Art Gallery (BRAG – Australia) December last year. There is a lot of mythology going on with the ANZAC story atm. The truth is often hidden by the legend. I keep reminding myself that these young lads were cannon fodder for governments on both sides. They didn’t ‘give’ their lives willingly – it was taken away from them.
Same as the Turks – tens of thousands dead on both sides. We are all human, in the end. That makes us all the same. To me, being human trumps all else – trumps race, religion, culture or arbitrary boundaries based on power and whoever ‘got there first’ to claim a piece of dirt. WW1 probably helped precipitate WW2 – as the people of Germany were financially punished for the war, and created a climate for Hitler to gain power later. Lest We Forget – the Horror of all Wars. Some people might get miffed at my views. But the diggers died so I can have an alternate opinion. Thanks fellas (and the forgotten women who also died in various roles – with little recognition these days).