Celebrated Contemporary Artist Ben Quilty to Open Sappers & Shrapnel

Australia's Official War Artist and one of the country's most celebrated contemporary artists, Ben Quilty, will open major new exhibition, Sappers & Shrapnel, at the Art Gallery of South Australia on Thursday 10 November 2016 at 6pm.

Inspired by the little-known and undervalued art form known as trench art, Sappers & Shrapnel, includes works from the collection of the Australian War Memorial including items made by Tasmanian Sapper Stanley K. Pearl alongside the compelling work of contemporary artists Tony Albert, Olga Cironis, Nicholas Folland, Brett Graham, Fiona Hall, Richard Lewer, Alasdair McLuckie, Baden Pailthorpe, Ben Quilty, Sera Waters and Rene Wanuny Kulitja, Judy Ukampari Trigger, Erica Ikungka Shorty, Lucille Armstrong, Mary Katajuku Pan, Janet Inyika, Niningka Lewis and Freda Teamay from the Tjanpi Desert Weavers.

Whether intended as trophies of war, souvenirs for those at home, or talismans for the battle ahead, trench art, made from the waste of warfare - from shells, shell cases, shrapnel, badges, buttons and appropriated enemy artillery - is an expression of our need to make art.

Curator, Lisa Slade says 'Trench art provides evidence of art's status - not as a luxury or commodity - but as essential for survival. It reminds us of art's inalienable power. And we need such a reminder right now.'

The trench art objects made by Australian Sapper, Stanley K. Pearl, provide some of the most illuminating biographies of the First World War and a window into the industry and ingenuity of these everyday artisans. Pearl's oeuvre signals a resilience, resourcefulness and an inventiveness, not unlike the contemporary artists that he will be exhibited alongside.

Slade explains 'As awkward museum objects - as curios and souvenirs - trench art bedevils traditional categories, resonating with meanings that are personal, patriotic, political and often talismanic. Contemporary art relishes the awkward and the curious, with the best of it springing from the fissures of life where artists as modern-day sappers can transform the shrapnel of the everyday.'

Sappers & Shrapnel: Contemporary art and the art of the trenches runs from Friday 11 November 2016 to Sunday 29 January 2017 at the Art Gallery of South Australia. Admission is free.

The official opening on Thursday 10 November at 6pm by artist Ben Quilty will be followed by a weekend of public events. Commencing with a minute's silence at 11am on Friday 11 November to commemorate Remembrance Day, the program will also include a panel discussion about contemporary art and conflict with artist Ben Quilty, author Richard Flanagan and Ralph Baydoun and Connie Lenneberg from World Vision, and talks by the exhibiting artists.

For further information visit www.artgallery.sa.gov.au.

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