Thirty finalists have been announced for the 17th annual Gallipoli Art Prize, a privately funded prize, auspiced by the Gallipoli Memorial Club in Sydney. It invites artists to respond openly to the broad themes of loyalty, respect, love of country, courage and comradeship as expressed in the Gallipoli Club’s creed:
“We 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 for perpetual peace and universal freedom.”
Among the finalists’ works this year is Turkish born artist Kevser Ugurlu’s Restless Hope Syndrome, inspired by a visit to the War Memorial in Canberra. In her artist statement, Ugurlu says, “I found myself for the first time on the side of the ‘enemy’ as a Turkish citizen. I felt deeply the grief and broken lives on both sides of war as a commonality that traverses across borders and continues in ongoing conflicts that create displacement.”
Clare Llewelyn, The Night Quilt, 96 x 131cm
In James Powditch’s work Empire, a faded stamp of the Union Jack is overlayed over old Australian butter box panels. Powditch says, “Whilst Federation gave us our independence, it was beyond question that we would follow the British lead into World War I, such was her stamp and sway on our national identity.”
While some works reference World War I, others explore present day issues. For example, John Klein has painted a portrait of his son Jack, a platoon commander in the Royal Australian Army Medical Corps. He had just become a commissioned officer as a part of a “COVID cohort”; soldiers who had been rushed through their training to take part in Operation COVID-19.
Philip Meatchem’s entry is a striking portrait of a Papua New Guinean man whom Meatcham describes as a “Frontline Worker”. Papua New Guinean carriers played a crucial role in bringing supplies and helping wounded Australian soldiers on the Kokoda Track. Meatchem asks, “Where would we be without the frontline workers and first responders?”
Clare Llewelyn’s mixed media work The Night Quilt incorporates bullet casings and engraved lead squares as part of a patchwork “quilt”. The central motif is a row of bullet case crosses reaching out in a seemingly infinite line. The lead squares are sewn and engraved with factual information about the Gallipoli Campaign. Llewelyn says, “Quilts have historically been memory diaries . . . Such a quilt is a painful companion after all wars.”
Anthony Swan, And the Earth shall have it all, oil on canvas, 90 x 121cm
Anthony Swan’s painting And the Earth shall have it all was inspired by the lyricism of Italian poet Cesare Pavese. The artist unfolds:
“The earth does not see a uniform, or hear a soldier’s dying words.
It does not feel a mother’s grief or sense a family’s despair.
‘Victory’, ‘Defeat’ and ‘Country’, are muffled sounds scattered by the winds.
In the end, the earth will welcome us all.”
“I am always impressed by the diversity of the works and how individual artists choose to respond to the more subtle, special qualities personified within Gallipoli Memorial Club’s Creed. Artists also reflect on contemporary issues – this year a number of entries reference the Covid pandemic,” said John Robertson, President of the Gallipoli Memorial Club and one of the judges of the Prize.
The 2020 judging panel comprised Jane Watters, Barry Pearce, Elizabeth Fortescue and John Robertson. The winner of this year’s $20,000 Gallipoli Art Prize will be announced on Wednesday 20 April 2022, in the lead up to Anzac Day, and the works will be on exhibition at The Cleland Bond Store, 33 Playfair Street, The Rocks, Sydney from 21 April to 8 May 2022.
View all 2022 Gallipoli Art Prize finalists’ works at www.gallipoliartprize.org.au.
