2021
oil paint on canvas
20 x 20 x 2.5 cm

This painting hopefully reflects the stoicism of our Defence partners. We ask a lot of our partners. Often forgotten in the equation, they follow us around the country and, for some, around the world. They join us in the adventure of military service, and the successes we sing of the ADF are largely enabled by their many sacrifices and unwavering support for us at home. This painting was made in Jakarta, Indonesia. My wife has accompanied me on what has been almost twenty postings in fewer years. We had just returned to my posting in Indonesia after being evacuated to Australia, our family of five living in a two bedroom apartment the majority of 2020 with only the bags we left with, and in 2021 we were restricted to the apartment waiting for conditions outside to improve. In a particularly trying period they could have left or stayed behind but this is a reminder that for everything we ask our members to do, there is also a network of people sticking by us to share in the same separation, disruption and adventures as we are. The subject is Emily, a scientist whose grandfather was a Rat of Tobruk. The painting is one of my first attempts at using oils.