Exhibition Review - March to Art: Voice 2022 By Ben Sexton
This March, the Australian National Veterans Arts Museum (ANVAM) was proud to host the ‘March to Art’ exhibition, centred in 2022 around the theme of ‘Voice’. The concept of ‘Voice’ is particularly pertinent within the veteran community and among veteran artists, as well as being a central component of ANVAM’s work.
For the fifth instalment of ‘March to Art’, the theme of ‘Voice’ was chosen as it carried significance at both the individual and collective level. As ‘March To Art: Voice’ curator, Tanja Johnston, reflected, “Through various creative mediums veterans elevate, affirm & contribute lived experience perspectives & storytelling to the collective understanding of the Veteran Arts Community voice.” Undoubtedly, the exhibits showcased this year were able to shed new light and achieve greater appreciation of the veteran experience and reality.
The Exhibition launched on Sunday the 13th of March with great momentum, and volume, at the ‘Rock for Reflection and Remembrance’ (RockforR&R) concert hosted at the Shrine of Remembrance. The musical extravaganza took place on a stunning sun-soaked autumnal afternoon and was a roaring success with crowds delighting in the entertainment on offer. The concert’s Musical Producer Harry Moffit, an SAS Veteran, psychologist and author, put together an incredible lineup including Stella Anning, a current serving ADF member, The Pretty Bones frontman and veteran Wayne Cooper, and infantry veteran Anthony Field, perhaps better known as ‘The Blue Wiggle!’ Catch some of the highlights below!
Above: A ‘RockforR&R’ highlights package compiled by Mark Direen
The remaining component of this year's exhibition was featured inside ANVAM’s offices on St Kilda Road. This was an exciting chance for ANVAM to educate the wider public about our role within the veteran community. Furthermore, it also served as a wonderful opportunity to bring attention to what we have earmarked as hopefully the future focal point of the veteran arts community, the very proximal and unused former Repatriation Commission Outpatient Clinic at 310 St Kilda Road, Southbank. ANVAM’s vision is to elevate the arts and associated benefits across the veteran community by establishing a national cultural institution, centre for wellbeing and home for veterans arts in this physical space that holds such deep historical and cultural ties within the veteran community.
Left: Taken in 1937, The Repatriation Commission Outpatient Clinic at 310 St Kilda Road, Southbank.
Source: Harold Paynting Collection, State Library of Victoria
Personally, It was fascinating to witness, appreciate and compare the varied mediums by which ‘Voice’ was exhibited inside ANVAM’s office space. Vicki Hallet’s captivating soundscape experience was one of the displays that grabbed my attention. Vicki formerly served in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and now spends her time working as an acoustic ecologist, sound artist, composer, musician, educator and music practitioner. Her work displayed in ‘March To Art: Voice’, titled ‘Essence’, was an immersive composition created from a variety of wind instruments that blended into the backdrop of Victoria’s Brisbane Ranges. Viewing and listening to Essence was both a transfixing and meditative experience that explored the essence of sounds and their interaction within spaces.
Installation Images: ( Right Screen) Vicki Hallet creating her soundscape experience in Victoria’s Brisbane Ranges. (Centre Wall) Jack McLain’s ‘DE OPRESSO LIBER’.
Michael Armstong’s collaborative photographic project, ‘Voices of Veterans’, was another exhibition highlight. The project photographed veterans living with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) using molasses as a metaphor through which to explore their lived experience. Michael selected molasses in his work as it “behaves in a manner that mirrors many of the symptoms of PTSD. Its weight and dark enveloping form, its’ staining and sticky qualities mark everything it touches.” The confronting and therapeutic side of this interaction with molasses was articulated with considerable openness by veteran, writer and digital producer Mick Cook, in a documentary, filmed and edited by Kris Kerehon, which accompanies Armstrong’s photography.
““The use of molasses in the shoot is perfect. The sticky mess, sometimes hidden under the uniform, permeates everything and will remain with you unless you can cleanse yourself of the burden. Even after you remove most of it, you will find a remnant – sticking to your arm, or your leg, or your hair. It remains a part of you.” ”
Installation Images: (Wall) Michael Armstrong’s ‘Voices of Veterans’ project, engaging with molasses as a metaphor for PTSD. (Centre and Enclosed) Dan Elborne’s ‘Conduit’ Series.
Perhaps the most practically useful piece presented this year was ‘The Makers Table’ from Steve Brewer. Steve is a twenty-one year veteran of the British and Australian army and is also a skilled furniture designer, creative woodworker and sculptor. ‘The Makers Table’ is a stunning showcase of his craftsmanship abilities. Constructed with kiln dried messmate hardwood this large work space was thoughtfully designed with both functionality and accessibility in mind. In thinking about his work, Steve shared that “ANVAM opened my eyes to the idea that making a table is a creative process. I find it strange to call the creation of a bespoke table pure art…I guess that you can give art a broader meaning and for me, it is therapeutic.”
Left: Woodworker and veteran, Steve Brewer, on the job.
Below: ‘The Makers Table’ being exhibited in all its glory
In conclusion, a massive thank you is owed to the ANVAM team for putting in all the work that goes into curating an exhibition as thoughtful as this one. ANVAM would like to express our gratitude to all of the 65 artists showcased in ‘March To Art: Voice’. The success of an exhibition like this rests upon artists sharing a part of themselves and presenting their own unique voices through an artistic medium. Because of the generous offerings presented in this year’s March To Art, the collective voice of the veteran community has most certainly been enhanced in its eclecticism and power.