The War Memorial have YouTubed the work of artist Peter Churcher who has been painting the construction of the forthcoming Canberra Class aircraft carriers (let’s stop pretending this is about disaster relief).
See artist Peter Churcher talk about a series of paintings, recently unveiled at the Australian War Memorial, that document the construction of two Landing Helicopter Dock (LHD) ships, the future HMAS Canberra and Adelaide.
Churcher, a former Australian official war artist who currently lives in Spain, approached the Memorial with a proposal to paint these ships while they were being constructed. The Memorial was keen to support the project, viewing it as a unique opportunity to document the building of ships that will be an important part of Australia’s future naval defence capabilities. He completed six paintings in-situ at the Navantia shipyards at Ferrol in northern Spain. They show the two Canberra class ships in various stages of construction and the infrastructure that supports large-scale ship-making.
Churcher was appointed as an official war artist in February 2002 to record his impressions of the Australian involvement in the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts. He spent three weeks with the Royal Australian Navy in the Persian Gulf. He then flew to Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean with the Royal Australian Air Force, and also spent time with the Australian Defence Force in Afghanistan.
It’s a good look at the behemoth that’s going to bear our city’s name.
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