Conflict: Contemporary Responses to War

What better year than the centenary of World War I then to hold an art exhibition inspired by the concept of 'conflict.' The exhibition, titled Conflict: Contemporary Responses to War, involves many works from contemporary artists that get the audience to think about the consequences of conflict. In a society that is so used to seeing or hearing about war, the exhibition gets people to stop, think and reflect on the atrocities in our world. It gets us to leave our everyday lives and delve into an issue that is bigger than ourselves. It makes us feel. The artworks provide us clues and ideas about the artist's intention, but they do not tell us what they mean or how to react, that is solely up to the individual viewer.

The art exhibition was deeply personal and reflective for both the artists involved and the viewers. Almost all of the works were contemporary artist's personal responses to the idea of conflict, whether influenced by memory or by the bigger picture. The artworks, dedicated to the theme of "conflict," were very thoughtful and effective; forcing their audience to evoke a sense of curiosity and a desire for more knowledge. The exhibition gets onlookers to think, feel and immerse themselves into the underlying meanings, whether intended or not, of the unique works. In this case, many of the artworks work as social activism.

Walking around the exhibition, the first artwork that stood out to me was titled The Blindfolded Leading the Blindfolded by George Gittoes. This marvellous ink-on-paper work really got me thinking. I took it as a reflection of conflict and war. The blinded figures leading one another down a path with no vision of what was to come was very effectual. These characters have no vision of the future, no knowledge of what lies ahead for them. They are being blindly led into war. This work therefore raises the questions: why are we constantly being led into war? Why war? Why is war and violence always the answer?

The meaning that arose from the aforementioned work was strengthened after viewing the video installation Formation V by Baden Pailthorpe. This work uses modern technology to explore the aesthetics and dynamics of military movement. Made using an Afghanistan-based war simulator, Formation V shows two opposing forces of US soldiers and Taliban combatants marching to war side by side. Oblivious to one another's presence, the usual violence of this relationship is transformed into a compelling, mesmerizing and unending walk that repeats itself over and over.

I stood, fixed to the spot, watching this installation for at least fifteen minutes. There was something dramatically poetic about watching the two armies walking aimlessly into the desert, side by side, with no real destination. They were simply walking, armed with guns but not using them on the opposition. This got me thinking, are either sides of the war more better than the other? They each believe that what they are doing is right, they all walk into war simply following their leader. Like the first artwork highlighted, the opposing forces simply marched with no real purpose. The blind was leading the blind, per se.

Considering the subject of religious violence, Formation V compares a fundamentalist Muslim movement with the US army. It highlights that there is no real difference between secular violence and religious violence. Both sides of the war march towards violence for their own beliefs and idea of what is right. What really makes their purposes for violence different then? Each army walks blindly, with all combatants holding a weapon, towards violence, towards nothing. So, how does religious violence really differ to that of secular violence?

For lack of a better term, the enjoyment that this exhibition provides is "disaster porn." It is something that should not be enjoyed as such, yet the inspiring artworks are in fact eye-drawing and breath-taking, invoking a sense of pleasure. I know these artworks should inspire feelings of guilt or sadness, but they do not. I thoroughly enjoyed the entire exhibition, leaving the gallery feeling inspired and thankful for the opportunity to witness such heartbreaking beauty.