| Place | Asia: Netherlands East Indies, Timor Sea |
|---|---|
| Accession Number | ART91501 |
| Collection type | Art |
| Measurement | image: 115 x 153 cm |
| Object type | Work on paper |
| Physical description | pastel and synthetic polymer paint on paper |
| Maker |
Senbergs, Jan |
| Place made | Australia: Victoria, Melbourne |
| Date made | 1998 |
| Conflict |
Second World War, 1939-1945 |
| Copyright |
Item copyright: AWM Licensed copyright |
The rescue
Description
Jan Senbergs collaborated with Col Madigan, one of the Armidale survivors to create this work which forms part of a series of ten pastel drawings depicting the sinking of HMAS Armidale on 1 December 1942. After surviving on the ship's whaler for eight days at sea, twenty-seven exhausted men were taken aboard HMAS Kalgoorlie. The sense of a communal struggle for survival is strongly conveyed in this work through the faceless mass of bodies which are shown desperately trying to climb aboard the rescue ship.