Memory Jug - Afghanistan

As part of being exhibited for the inaugural Napier Waller Art Prize exhibition (2018), Duncan provided the following artist statement about her work:

"Watching the boys go outside the wire for days and knowing there’s a hundred ways an IED could be hidden beneath their feet;
Seeing them return filthy and exhausted, and being grateful and ashamed of how much experiences vary in Afghanistan;
Hearing Maximus fire for the first time and thinking we were under attack;
Sunrise Islamic prayer songs;
Getting rocketed, and sleeping through it;
Drinking horrible Turkish coffee and watching helicopter sunsets;
Wishing I didn’t have boobs as I put on my Kevlar;
Freezing on Piquet;
Being able to pick the ones on their third or more rotation;
Helicopter rides in between old, old mountains;
Missing Christmas at home;
The only woman I saw, floating in a sea of blue material on the back of a motorbike;
Watching the Americans in their bandanas with miniguns and loud music at the range;
Little ones with half melted faces;
Giggling at the Dutch men in their tights;
Trying not to stare at the Regiment boys, but wondering why they all have the same coloured hair and beards;
Skyping my kids and they’re bored;
The little boy at the markets with a tumour in his eye and no shoes;
The LECs laughing at my Pashto;
Studying my freshly fingerprinted hands, and Ben the Sniper goes, ‘Don’t worry Nat we’d find you and bring you home’, and knowing they would." (Natalie Duncan, 2018)

'Memory Jug - Afghanistan' by artist and veteran Natalie Duncan was judged highly commended as part of the Memorial's 2018 Napier Waller Art Prize. Presented in partnership with Thales Australia, the University of Canberra and The Road Home, the Napier Waller Art Prize aims to promote artistic excellence, the healing potential of art for military personnel, and raise a broader awareness of the impact of service on the individual. In its inaugural year, the Napier Waller Art Prize attracted over 100 entries.