RMIT graduate's artwork installed at the Shrine of Remembrance

RMIT graduate's artwork installed at the Shrine of Remembrance

RMIT Master of Photography graduate Jack McLain has had one of his artworks installed for an exhibition at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne.

After displaying his series: ‘The Hall of Shadows’, at the RMIT School of Art exhibition in December 2021, McLain had one of the pieces, ‘It’s Only the News,’ selected to exhibit in the Shrine’s Visitor Centre, which is free to see until December 2022.

‘It’s Only the News’ is a photographic investigation of war crimes alleged to have been perpetrated by members of the Australian Special Forces in Afghanistan between 2005 – 2016.

It responds to The Brereton Report, a heavily redacted Australian Federal Government Inquiry released in November 2020 that found evidence of 39 murders of civilians and prisoners of war involving members of the Australian Special Forces in Afghanistan.

The series of digitally composited images depict plastic figures on newsprint overlaid onto images of redacted pages from the Brereton Report.

These composite images are presented on 39 banners covering an entire wall along the Shrine’s Visitor Centre.

Some of the images of plastic figures overlaid onto pages of the Brereton Report. Some of the images of plastic figures overlaid onto pages of the Brereton Report.

“The Brereton report looks at 39 counts of murder that they’re investigating, so we decided on 39 banners in three rows of 13,” McLain said.

McLain, who served in the US Special Forces in Afghanistan between 2001 – 2004, hopes his work can start some difficult conversations about the social, ethical, and human terrain created by the alleged war crimes. 

“I’m not somebody who finds extreme answers or really loud conversations change people much,” he said. 

“I wanted to raise some questions, and they’re hard questions which will lead to some challenging conversations.”

Earlier this year, Alison Bennett, Associate Dean of Photography, RMIT School of Art, contacted Sue Burgess, Head of Public Programming at the Shrine to put forward McLain’s work.

“Sue was my outside assessor for my Master of Photography in 2021 and was keen on the work I’d done,” McLain said.

“So, she invited me in to have a conversation with the curatorial staff and before I knew it, they said ‘we want to get you scheduled in for an exhibition.’”

Continuing his work in this area, The Anzac Memorial in Sydney has greenlit his latest project, an exploration of the lives of 20 Korean war veterans, which he hopes to begin later in 2022.

It’s a project McLain said is important to do now before these stories are lost.

“These veterans are getting older; they just disbanded the Korean War Veterans Association as so few are still alive.”

“When you’re working with 80-year-old veterans, the process is slow, some will be in great shape; some will need to take a lot of breaks – so I’ll just need to work with them.”

“As a veteran, people are interested in you, in your experience, but there are a lot of stereotypes.”

“It doesn’t matter if the stereotypes come from Hollywood or popular culture or whatever, the brush strokes tend to be very broad, and I think for many veterans it’s important to understand the nuance of their experience.”

The ‘It’s Only the News’ exhibition is on at the Shrine of Remembrance Visitor Centre until December 2022.

Story by: Thomas Odell

08 September 2022

Share

08 September 2022

Share

  • Alumni
  • Arts and culture
Engage

Related News

Zerotag

RMIT excels in 2024 Good Design Awards

Outstanding innovations by RMIT graduates, students and staff have been recognised at this year's Good Design Awards.

Screenshot from “We breath underwater” by Vigo

Creative video works envision inclusive futures for Arts Centre Melbourne initiative

Artworks by RMIT students have been selected to feature in Alter State, a disability-led arts initiative celebrating Deaf and Disabled artists, creativity and culture.

5 people standing together in front of wooden wall

How stories and poetry are reconnecting cultures across the Asia-Pacific

A series of events in Melbourne this October bring together First Nations and non-Indigenous writers, poets and scholars from across the Asia-Pacific.

streaming-1220x732.jpg

What does Australian film and TV look like after nearly ten years of streaming?

RMIT University brings together researchers and screen industry to look at changes in our film and TV audience habits, streaming strategies, and policy recommendations.

Show more
aboriginal flag
torres strait flag

Acknowledgement of Country

RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. RMIT also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business - Artwork 'Sentient' by Hollie Johnson, Gunaikurnai and Monero Ngarigo.

More information