| Place | Oceania: Pacific Islands, Solomon Islands, Guadalcanal |
|---|---|
| Accession Number | ART94143 |
| Collection type | Art |
| Measurement | sheet: 76.8 cm x 57.2 cm |
| Object type | Work on paper |
| Physical description | brush, ink and wash on paper |
| Maker |
eX de Medici |
| Place made | Australia: Australian Capital Territory, Canberra |
| Date made | 2009 |
| Conflict |
Solomon Islands (RAMSI), 2003-2013 |
| Copyright |
Item copyright: © Australian War Memorial
This item is licensed under CC BY-NC
|
Downstream/Gold Ridge gold mine
Description
This is a portrait of an Australian peacekeeper while on a community liaison visit to a Solomon Islands village. The artist accompanied the ADF on this patrol. This was a well-kept village next to a river, with a tidy church, vegetable gardens and healthy-looking children. The village was located downstream from Gold Ridge, a gold-mining operation. In her journal, de Medici recalled the experience of, "what looked like a lovely fast flowing river below the village, was in fact poisoning everybody. The head man showed me the cyanide burns on his legs, asking if I had any medicine for him".