Vietnam to Modern Conflicts

The Vietnam War saw the appointment of a new generation of Official War Artists. Civilian artists Ken McFadyen and Bruce Fletcher were appointed. Unlike previous artists, they were expected to undergo jungle warfare training and perform as soldiers would should this be required. McFadyen and Fletcher captured U1H1 Iroquois helicopters and Caribous on multiple occasions.

Following the Vietnam War, the Official War Artist scheme was put on hold until 1999, when Rick Amor was appointed to East Timor (Timor-Leste) as part of INTERFET peacekeeping operations. While examples exist in the form of donated posters, or private artwork by RAAF members, art relating to RAAF activities from Vietnam to 1999 is sparse.

The next significant grouping of artworks relating to the RAAF is a series by Official War Artist Peter Churcher. Churcher was assigned to document the role of Australian forces in the International Coalition against Terrorism in January 2002. Churcher spent three weeks with the Royal Australian Navy in the Middle East before traveling to the US military base in Diego Garcia – a small island of the British Indian Ocean Territory which has been used as a base for American soldiers since 1971. Churcher observed and recorded the work the RAAF was completing alongside the United States Air Force. Three of his more significant works from this period are Two Fighter Pilots Rigged Up During a Scramble, Corporal McKelvie, and Hornet on Flightline at Night.

These works highlight aspects of life on the secluded atoll. It was so hot here that Churcher found himself having to work at night, as can be seen in his work featuring the Hornet.

Churcher completed this portrait of Corporal McKelvie, noting “there were only three Australian women on the island. I… chose Nicky for her outwardly stern ‘military’ appearance by knowing all the while that there was a sweet girl underneath”.

Lewis Miller was appointed Official War Artist In 2003, and deployed to the second Iraq War. Miller spent three weeks in Iraq, the Persian Gulf and Qatar. In these artworks, Miller depicts RAAF F/A-18s grounded and in flight.

Lyndell Brown and Charles Green were sent to the Middle East to document the work of Australians in Iraq and Afghanistan. The first of their collaborative artworks featured here depicts a RAAF C130 Hercules, which sits on the Al Udeid flight line in Qatar late in the afternoon.

The second artwork by Brown and Lyndell features Corporal Brown, RAAF, in the Middle East, standing in front of a volleyball court on base, about to return home following a rotation. The afternoon sun gives him a long shadow as he stands at ease, looking out beyond the artist.