It centres around young army nurse Lt. Barbara Black, the only Australian servicewoman casualty of the war. The exhibition contextualises this tumultuous time through artworks, photographs, posters and poetry by Australian, Vietnamese and American women, expressing the impacts of war on themselves, their families and the environment. A short film constructed from Barbara Black’s letters, photos and slides from her tour of duty in Vietnam (1968-1969) screens alongside a display of personal items.
Artists
Mirranda Burton, Teresa Mei Chuc, Lâm Thị Mỹ Dạ, Janenne Eaton, Marlene Kremmer, Sonia Kretschmar, Mai Nguyễn-Long, Kelly Manning, Dorothy Marder, Jennifer McDuff, Hoa Pham, Lorraine Schneider, My Le Thi, Glen Tomasetti, Kelly Wallwork, Polly Watkins, Lisa Young
Sister Soldier offers a timely reflection on the devastating effects and intergenerational trauma of war.
Curators
Polly Watkins
Writer/ filmmaker Polly Watkins began making films in the 1980s with film/theatre ensemble The Even Orchestra, staging shows in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide Fringe Festivals, the Institute of Contemporary Art, London and the First New York Arts Festival, NYC. Her award-winning films and documentaries have screened in international film festivals and broadcast on ABC, SBS and Al Jeezera; including Vietnam Nurses , in which six Australian army nurses tell the untold stories of their Vietnam War, and feature documentary Dr Sarmast’s Music School , following Ahmad Sarmast’s dream to create Afghanistan’s first music institute in Kabul to transform the lives of street kids.
After reading Barbara Black’s lively letters home from the Vietnam War, Polly decided to make Sister Soldier , a short film using excerpts from her letters to capture Barbara’s vitality and sense of humour in small vignettes, a glimpse of her life as a young army nurse in wartime. Polly lives in Naarm, Melbourne with menagerie of lovable odd-bod human and non-human animals.
Trish Carney
Trish Carney has worked in the film industry for 30 years in various roles including production manager, line producer, production supervisor and assistant director. Productions include commercials, feature films, documentaries, telemovies and TV series. Trish also produced independent short films directed by Polly Watkins. Trish was keen to collaborate again with Polly to co-curate Sister Soldier.
Consultant Curator
Dr Malte Wagenfeld RMIT University, Melbourne
Acknowledgements
This exhibition was made possible by the generosity of the contributing artists, poets and writers, Barbara Black’s daughter Emma, members of the veteran community, and family and friends
Free
