Memory, Memorial
“Memory, Memorial” (1996) is a body of work based on five individuals who served in the Second World War. The project involved interviewing each person and then photographing them in their original uniforms.
The work explores the relationships between public memorial and private memory. It is also concerned with differences in perception: between those who have experienced these events at first hand and those, like myself, who can only imagine what it was like through other’s recollections and archival material.
This work also draws parallels between points of vulnerability in these individual’s lives. As young men these bodies were in proximity to physical danger. Here again, as elderly men, their bodies have become synonymous with physical vulnerability.
The work raises questions about our perceptions of historical events and the hegemony of the single authoritative viewpoint. These elderly men are both heroes and ordinary people. The fragmentation of the sitter further serves to question traditions in Fine Art history and conventions associated with the portrayal of the male hero figure.
The work explores the relationships between public memorial and private memory. It is also concerned with differences in perception: between those who have experienced these events at first hand and those, like myself, who can only imagine what it was like through other’s recollections and archival material.
This work also draws parallels between points of vulnerability in these individual’s lives. As young men these bodies were in proximity to physical danger. Here again, as elderly men, their bodies have become synonymous with physical vulnerability.
The work raises questions about our perceptions of historical events and the hegemony of the single authoritative viewpoint. These elderly men are both heroes and ordinary people. The fragmentation of the sitter further serves to question traditions in Fine Art history and conventions associated with the portrayal of the male hero figure.
