39 Julian Thompson

Sunshine Coast Art Prize 2016 – Finalist

[Image courtesy of the artist]

Julian Thompson | Nothing to See Here - the Triumph of the Shroud | 2016 | oil on linen | 109 x 137 x 4 cm

Artist Statement

Conflict is the singularity holding history to its orbit. Military history is often neatly categorised into honour, barbarism, depravity or valour, although it is the messy reality that war usually demands the simultaneous expression of all of these. Whilst history is written by the victors it’s distortions, embellishments or faithful recounting, proffered in hindsight, belie that the lived experience of its’ protagonists is the truly honest measure of war. How apt then that the war machine strives to achieve invisibility, both outwardly as shrouded machines become the very landscape itself and inwardly by creating a space for the words and visions of those who would inspire us to greater sacrifice.