Dignified tribute to UK troops

Sep 26 2008 by Vicky Anderson, Liverpool Daily Post

Vicky Anderson reports on one artist’s campaign to honour British soldiers

IT WAS a trip to Iraq that should have provided artist Steve McQueen with enough subject matter to put together a work in his usual media of film, as was planned.

Instead, it became a national campaign and a personal crusade for the Turner Prize winner, unlike anything he had ever done before.

His Queen and Country can now be seen in St George’s Hall, and is dedicated to the 137 families who have lost loved ones serving in Iraq.

He visited the war-torn country in 2003 in his capacity as the official war artist for the Imperial War Museum.

Expecting to make a short film, things worked out very differently, and the result saw him create a series of stamps dedicated to each individual serving soldier.

“I didn’t have any kind of pre-ideas when I went out there,” he says. “I am not pro- or anti-war. Some wars are meant to be fought and some are not.

“As a war artist, you can do what you want, there is no brief, what they want is your view of things.” Of his experience in Iraq, he says: “I was embedded with the Army there, so had them walking me around locations, but it was frustrating because I couldn’t go anywhere.

“They showed me what I wanted to see, but only having six days was very strange. I took my camera but it was no way enough time. It takes a few days just to acclimatise to the heat, it is so hot.

“Not having been in a military situation, or Iraq, before, one things that stood out was the feeling of camaraderie of the troops.

“We went to schools they were rebuilding, went on a tour of duty at night in the city, and it was all good stuff but it was not enough time to have an understanding.

“But the main thing was being taken around by the troops, and getting to know them was great.”

Upon his return, the London-born artist, who now lives in Amsterdam, had another idea to complete the project.

“That camaraderie really resonated with me, and I came up with the idea of doing the stamps.

“I was mailing a letter and saw there was an image of Van Gogh on the stamp.

“It was almost a eureka moment. I realised it was the perfect situation to honour the troops.”

One thing he was certain of was that the project needed the collaboration of those who had lost loved ones. He set about contacting each family personally and letting those who chose to take part – some 137 to date, including the family of Liverpool solider Cpl Ben Nowak, who was killed in Basra, in 2006 – pick their favourite photograph for the stamp.

The work is presented as sliding panels in a plain wooden cabinet, each containing a sheet of stamps and the name, rank and age of the soldier.

“There was a real sense of community then, of trying to do something,” he says.

“The work has snowballed in a way, helping family and friends come together.”

It is a simple, yet deeply affecting piece, created as a long, ongoing process that clearly isn’t easy for the artist.

“It was difficult.

“When I first got the book of photographs with these touching notes, flicking through and seeing the women and men that had died, it was very upsetting.

“Young people dying . . . it is hard, very difficult.

“It is all about making those guys visible.”

It has always been McQueen’s wish for the stamps to be issued by Royal Mail, but he has found contact with them, and the MoD, so far unhelpful.

The Art Fund, an independent charity which gave the work to the Imperial War Museum last year and is touring Queen and Country around the UK, is spearheading the artist’s campaign.

More than 13,000 people have signed the petition at www.artfund.org/queenandcountry

Regretfully, it is still a work in progress, and the artist says it will never be truly completed “until the last soldier comes home”.

“I’m not going to give up,” says McQueen, whose most recent film, Hunger, about Irish hunger striker Bobby Sands, won awards at the Cannes, Sydney and Toronto film festivals this year.

“My main aim is that these stamps get made. The project will never be finished until then and that has always been the idea.

“This art can work in a way so it’s not stuck in a museum collecting dust, but is something anyone and everyone can participate in.

“I thought how can I get the public to see these things, present them in a way that is dignified and in an interesting fashion?

“There had to be that physical connection to the faces. When you open that draw, you take on that responsibility. It’s not just an image staring at you, you make that choice to have time with the image and push it away.

“It’s also about reflection and contemplation.

“Without all that noise going on in the room, you have time to think about things. It is very respectful and calm.”

Mick McEvatt, the uncle of Cpl Nowak, has given his full support to McQueen.

He has said: “We’re glad the artist got in touch because all we want is for people to remember Ben and other servicemen and women.

“We’re interested in Ben, obviously, but this is really fitting. People use stamps every day, and what an honour if there could be one with Ben’s face.”

QUEEN and Country can be seen in the Grand Jury Room, on the third floor of St George’s Hall, until October 31.

vickyanderson