BEN QUILTY’S AFTER AFGHANISTAN

Ben Quilty is a special artist and endearing character. Probably best known for his Archibald winning painting of Margaret Ollie, his early forays were into exploring the Australian male subculture – painting everything from Toranas to Jimmy Barnes. This intelligent take on the Australian male persona made him the perfect choice as Official War Artist for the Australian Defence Force in Afghanistan. Given unfettered access and a brief to paint whatever he saw – positive or negative – this is the fruit of his work.

It is an extraordinary exhibition. Mostly portraiture but with the occasional landscape or destroyed ‘Bushmaster’, the works are large and imposing. Highly expressionistic and with paint so thick it has almost sculptural qualities, they manage to connect on a deeply emotional level. The eyes of the subjects tell of sadness and experiences that the human heart is not meant to bear.

Quilty says, “I was very driven to tell their story. I started by drawing the soldiers and hearing their stories about their experiences of being in this very wild place. I realised I just needed to sit with them making portraits of these guys in Tarin Kot or wherever I was.”

Keen to capture their sheer physicality, some soldiers were asked to sit for their portraits naked – with the protective layers of uniform and body armour stripped away. Says Quilty, “I wanted to show not only their physical strength but also the frailty of human skin and the darkness of the emotional weight”.

The wounds of war run deep in the Australian psyche. Telling the stories begin the healing individually and nationally. This is an exhibition to see.

Until Apr 13, National Art School, Forbes St, Darlinghurst, nas.edu.au

BY GREG WEBSTER