Exhibition In Focus The Line of Fire

Perc Tucker Regional Gallery

14 March – 27 April 2014

Through the recent display of The Line of Fire, Perc Tucker Regional Gallery achieved a number of significant objectives aligned with the adopted Visual Arts Strategy

Firstly, the exhibition appealed to a community subculture; designed to pay homage to the contributions of Australian Defence Force personnel, particularly poignant given Townsville’s status as a major garrison city. The Line of Fire examined Townsville and broader Australian military history, and was scheduled to coincide with ANZAC Day celebrations.

Executed in a variety of media, including photography, film, painting, drawing, and objects, the works provided insight into Australia’s evolving military involvement, and were supplemented with informative didactics that touched on the First World War, the Second World War, the Vietnam War, the United Nations Operation in Somalia, the United National Transitional Authority in Cambodia, Townsville’s military history, the importance of war art and photography, recent conflicts, and details pertaining to individual artworks and items on display.

Secondly, and perhaps most importantly, the exhibition provided increased access to works held within the City of Townsville Art Collection

Given the large military presence in Townsville over many years, war and military themed art is a pertinent Collection focus area, and the dedicated subsection has been pivotal to the growth and development of the City of Townsville Art Collection.

Within The Line of Fire, 30 artworks from the City of Townsville Art Collection were displayed, including works by noted artists such as Yvonne Atkinson, Frank Hinder, George Gittoes, and Douglas Green.

Of particular interest was the inclusion of photographs that entered the Collection through two gifts made in recent years; one by photojournalist Tim Page, and the remaining works having been gifted by the Australian War Memorial (AWM). The AWM gift – comprising 14 photographs following Perc Tucker Regional Gallery’s display of Focus: photography and war 1945 – 2006 (27 March until 3 May 2009) –included works by Ben Bohane, Michael Coleridge, Allan Cuthbert, Harold Dunkley, Stephen Dupont, Dennis Gibbons, George Gittoes, Phillip Hobson, David Dare Parker, and Ian Robertson.

Supplementing the Collection artworks were loaned items from Mr Ian Dowe, a committee member from the Rollingstone Sub Branch of the Townsville RSL, and a ‘cinema-style’ section of the exhibition displaying four films by George Gittoes. The supplementary materials provided even greater insight into the true face of conflict, both through Gittoes’ footage and first-hand accounts from those involved, and by displaying uniforms, equipment and weapons from conflicts dating back as far as the First World War.

A developed program of events coinciding with The Line of Fire was also designed to increase the participatory and educative nature of the exhibition. The Australian War Memorial again proved themselves to be generous collaborators through the delivery of a Guest Lecture by Curator, Dr Anthea Gunn, entitled The Australian Official War Art Scheme. The lecture detailed the Official War Art Scheme’s history and development as the longest running program commissioning art for a public collection in Australia. The talk encouraged consideration of the unique possibilities that art offers us in seeking to understand and commemorate war.

The Army Museum of North Queensland also collaborated, presenting a free interpretation session, Discover Your Military Memorabilia. During this session staff from the Army Museum of North Queensland offered a free interpretation and provided basic conservation advice for the general public’s military items and memorabilia.

Acc. 2007.6

Purchased 2007 City of Townsville Art Collection

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