Shared Experience: Dream of the latrine sitter

Art and War

Sidney Nolan
Dream of the latrine sitter
oil on hardboard
45.6 x 122.2cm

The work is painted quite thinly on the rough side of the hardboard. Nolan, a conscript at the time, was stationed at Dimboola in Victoria, where he was engaged in loading supplies onto railway wagons. He was fascinated by the vast fields of wheat and the endless blue skies. During this time, Nolan returned to painting landscapes and figures, although now using simplified forms. In the painting, the solitary figure, exposed to the elements, is shown to be both psychologically and physically vulnerable.