JULIE HUTCHINGS
The Anzac Spirit shines
Mixed media on canvas
76 x 60cm
The slouch hat and rising sun badge are the epitome of the Anzac spirit…it is very much part of my family history. My father wore one when he served in WW2 and my son in the reserves.
In 2018 I travelled to the battlefields of WW1 to France & Belgium as an art project. My two great uncles both indigenous never returned from the war. Christopher Gage is buried in Belgium and now after being identified 103 years later his brother Charles has a proper grave with headstone instead of his name on the memorial wall at Villers-Bretonneux.
For this art prize, I glued extracts from a book titled “Walking with the Anzacs” to primed canvas. I wanted the hat to stand out as weathering the horrors of war, however I wanted the Rising Sun badge to stay shiny & bright as if representing new beginnings and hope for the future.
