A woman is using art to explore how war and its impact on those who experienced it firsthand have effects that extend beyond the individual, to families and loved ones.
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Sarah Wallace-Smith this week opened her exhibition Keyhole at the Arnold Street Gallery and on Anzac Day will host a ‘meet the artist’ event.
Ms Wallace-Smith said her project was first inspired by a piece of fabric designed by her aunty while her husband was away fighting in World War II.
“I’m really interested in the perspective of families of veterans, how they have to manage… There’s so much talk about the veterans and the terrible suicide rates and the PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), but it’s sort of unquantifiable, the impact on families,” she said.
More coverage: Your guide to Anzac Day 2018 in Bendigo and region
Ms Wallace-Smith herself has been touched by war and has numerous family connections to the armed forces, including her father and uncles, her brothers, and her first husband.
She said her family had been “incredibly lucky”, with her father and his two brothers returning home alive, despite all having been reported missing, presumed dead.
But her father returned from World War II physically scarred, having suffered serious burns after being shot down in his Spitfire.
Ms Wallace-Smith said her father would not let anyone kiss him because of his scarred appearance, something she described as heartbreaking.
She also works for Legacy, the organisation that supports the families of service people and veterans.
Ms Wallace-Smith hopes her work will help open up conversation.
She said it was not always the big stories of impressive feats that were important, but also the smaller conversations that seemed inconsequential.
Her exhibition includes a series of watercolours using the colours red, white and blue – being the colours of the Australian flag – and a lightbox installation.
The lightbox is a watercolour painting Ms Wallace-Smith created from her aunty’s fabric, with the colours inverted.
She explained this was a representation of the fact that it was often the things that weren’t said that were the most powerful.
The exhibition’s name, Keyhole, refers to how people can only often glimpse a small part of a picture, as they do when looking through a keyhole.
Ms Wallace-Smith will be at the Arnold Street Gallery on Anzac Day from 11am to 3pm.
Donations to Legacy are welcomed.
Natalie Croxon
Reporter at the Illawarra Mercury, mostly covering social affairs. Previously of the Bendigo Advertiser, Northern Daily Leader and Quirindi Advocate. Our Watch award winner.
Reporter at the Illawarra Mercury, mostly covering social affairs. Previously of the Bendigo Advertiser, Northern Daily Leader and Quirindi Advocate. Our Watch award winner.
