48 pieces

 

'48 Pieces'

Latex, Tippex,  acrylic, polyfilla, modroc,  plastic, chicken wire and medal ribbons on wood 

 

 

 

 

I don't think this will be the last version of this idea. The title refers to the number of figures supplied in toy soldier boxes from my childhood. The image refers back to a drawing done several years ago which was a comment on the sanitary version of war we present to our children. The soldiers from my youth were always in action poses and were never wounded or dead. I wanted to do something to express the reality of the human waste of war which was hidden from us when we were young so I thought the use of the crosses in the same neat rows that the figures come in was interesting visually. It also creates comparisons with the rows of crosses in the war cemeteries across the globe.

The sprue surrounding the grouping is a perfect fit and finished the image of this being something you could pull out of a box of soldiers nicely.

The lozenge pattern in the background has been provided rather neatly by chicken wire loaded down with latex, modroc and polyfilla. I'm enjoying the different textures created by these materials.

 

Below are some of the other incarnations of this idea from the past few years.