Army - The Soldiers' Newspaper

An ADF member takes a moment to reflect. Original photo by David Dare Parker, Official War Photographer.
All images from the Australian War Memorial

Official Australian War Artist, Lewis Miller, captures the anonamous form of an SAS trooper in “Relaxing before Gen Cosgrove arrives”

An Australian soldier mans his machine gun while on patrol.
Original photo by David Dare Parker, Official War Photographer.

Lewis Miller’s painting of Clearance Diver Seaman Kenneth Walker.

David Dare Parker’s photograph of 75 Sqn pilots waiting to board their aircraft for their last offensive air operation in Iraq.

The figure of an SAS trooper watches over the Australian War Memoria’s new special exhibit of Australians in Iraq 2003.Photo by Cpl Cameron Jamieson, Army newspaper

Lewis Miller’s sketch of David Dare Parker, official Australian War Photographer for Op Falconer.

The art of war
A new display at the War Memorial showcases its official war artist and photographer in Iraq

By Cpl Cameron Jamieson

The sombreness of the Australian War Memorial is enough to humble the most boisterous of visitors.

The sanctity of its chambers strikes a deep chord with visitors, yet for many people the association feels somewhat detached because the displays are mostly of wars from earlier generations.
Now that has changed.

A new special exhibition, called “Australians in Iraq 2003”, provides a contemporary insight into the operations and experiences of Australians serving in the Middle East Area of Operations.

It continues the Memorial’s commitment to providing the public with an understanding of the conditions Australians face in war.

Nola Anderson, an Assistant Director for the Memorial, says the Iraq collection was a great project to be involved in.
“We are looking at who went and what was it like, to give our visitors the experience of what Australians did in the field,” she says.

“The highlight for visitors is to be able to see what it was like, to get that close inside view. The exhibition does that in a lot of ways ... [showing] lots of little bits of reality.

“You didn’t get that sort of coverage in the newspapers. They tended to give you the iconic or dramatic image, so you really didn’t get a feel for what the service personnel were doing and how they were doing it.”

On display for the first time are works by official war artist Lewis Miller and by official war photographer David Dare Parker.
Both men spent several weeks in the MEAO, including with Australian forces, capturing the activity onboard ships, at air force bases and on operations.

1998 Archibald Prize-winner Lewis Miller was excited and honoured to be selected as the official war artist by the Memorial.
Although he was prepared for the heat of the Middle East, at times the environment played havoc with his materials.
Once, while painting on the tarmac of an airfield, he found the elements conspiring against him.

“The paints were drying out as soon as they were put on the palette,” he says.

A switch to watercolours was also corrupted when they melted in the heat. Then the wind came, and he laments on how he must have looked while combining the frustrating tasks of painting, keeping his hat on and standing on his finished artwork in order to stop it from blowing away.

Miller found the work to be rewarding though.

“I enjoyed working with the troops, it was the best thing I could have done,” he says.

The appointment of photojournalist David Dare Parker was the first time the Memorial itself has commissioned an official war photographer. In the past, photographers were appointed by the various services.

Parker felt privileged to be chosen as it allowed him to follow on from a tradition of Australian war photographers. His passion for photojournalism is revealed in his images.

“I tried to reveal what I witnessed so that the results would have an effect on public opinion,” he says.
For Parker, the professionalism of ADF members impressed him the most.

“They had their opinions, but they did their job professionally,” he says.

He was also impressed with the cooperation he received.

“They had a high regard for the War Memorial, keeping the Anzac tradition alive.”

A problem for both artists was the inability to show the faces of SAS troopers. Both artists are renowned for their ability to reveal the complexity of the human condition through the detailed study of their subject’s faces.

Miller overcame this by changing his approach to the subject.

“I tried to get the feeling of the person by their posture,” he said.

David Dare Parker found the need for secrecy a little frustrating as the troopers had such charisma.

“But I understood that it was not a form of censorship, rather it was the need for security because their lives were on the line,” he said.

Miller and Parker’s work portray many significant events involving Australians, such as the patrol and interception duties of HMAS Anzac and HMAS Kanimbla, the painstaking work of the RAN’s mine clearance teams, the departure of RAAF jet fighters on their last combat operation over Baghdad and the visit of CDF Gen Peter Cosgrove to SASR at Al Asad airfield, where hidden Iraqi jet fighters had been discovered.

The exhibition also showcases relics from the war such as Australian uniforms, an Iraqi sea mine and a huge defaced portrait of Saddam Hussein. There is even a chromed AKM assault rifle taken by SASR from the Commander of the Iraqi forces in Western Iraq.

The result is a fascinating display that truly captivates the viewer. You can stand back and watch how members of the public stand and consider every picture and painting, instead of rushing by like they would at many other art exhibitions.