Chris Breen looks at why former soldier and Carlisle artist DEREK ELAND’s recent work is currently causing something of an international stir.
EARLIER this year multi-media artist Derek Eland, a former Parachute Regiment officer, went to Afghanistan for a month as an official war artist and was embedded with 16 Air Assault Brigade, in Helmand Province and the results of his endeavours are attracting attention from national and international media.
His work can now be seen in an exhibition currently on in the Imperial War Museum North, in Manchester, which marks the 10th anniversary of the start of the war in Afghanistan.
This small, powerful display provides a unique insight deep into individual front-line experiences in a current conflict. From the mundane to the remarkable; the extra-ordinary to the everyday soldiers shared their thoughts and feelings.
As a soldier-turned-artist Derek suspects that his previous military service may have given him better access to the front-line troops than he anticipated. “But even so I didn’t expect to be going out daily on actual patrol with them,” he said. He spent time with, among others, the Irish Guards, the Royal Irish Regiment and The Parachute Regiment. So successful was his mission that he now he plans to return to Afghanistan and repeat the exercise with the American forces.
“My idea was to engage with the soldiers from a new perspective, in a more personal way. I wanted them to write their own stories. I took along hundreds of coloured cards and devised a sort of Big Brother Tent, the Diary Room, and gave them 20 minutes each to write about their thoughts and experiences The result was immediate, raw and honest. In fact one soldier wrote simply: “It’s the honesty of these stories that makes them important.”
Other quotes which feature on the wall in the exhibition are:
‘These things we see here every day are extraordinary. Yet we get used to it.’
‘Nothing compares to the first time getting shot at. Adrenelin is sky high and lasts ages.’
‘In the worst times, the best in people shows.’
‘To go forward could have meant death by a command wire IED. To go back down the alley could have meant death by small arms fire. I had to make a hasty decision. I have seldom felt so alone in my life, or so scared.’
‘This tour has been a sobering and maturing experience. It has certainly increased the wrinkles and creases in my face which has resulted in me looking 28 and I’m 20....’
‘I miss my girlfriend and small things like driving my car and going to the shops. It has made me appreciate hard work and changed my view of life and death completely. We are on borrowed time, so use it wisely!’
‘My abiding memory of Afghanistan? ... It will be a humble local farmer who one day took me by surprise by asking after my family. “You are far from home. You must miss your family very much. We are very grateful.”
Your mind clicks into a gear that you never knew you had, and you bark orders like your life depends on it... and GUESS WHAT? IT DOES!’
‘My abiding memory of Afghanistan? More like DUSTISTAN! The dust, it gets everywhere! ... No, it will be a humble local farmer who one day took me by surprise by asking after my family. “You are far from home. You must miss you family very much. We are very grateful.” ’
The message cards written by troops are displayed in the exhibition just as they were posted in Forward Operating Bases in Afghanistan. The reality of everyday life for troops sits alongside emotional accounts written in the immediate aftermath of battle. This is the first time an artist has engaged with the Afghan conflict in this contemporary way, through a collaborative, participative approach with soldiers while at the front line.
Covered with sand and weather stains, some comments were even written on sections of ration boxes or held together with tape. Virtually every soldier in the three company battlegroups gave their story of the conflict. The project has helped to provide a strong outlet for troops to share their experiences with the British public and with each other. People now have a unique opportunity to respond by leaving their own thoughts on the wall of the display.
Derek Eland was born in Penrith went to school in Whitehaven and live in Carlisle. He’s an artist whose work is an interrogation of his subject, whether it be in his native landscape or his conversation pieces with soldiers on the front line. He uses innovative techniques to engage with subjects which are often emotive, difficult and contentious.
He was recently artist in residence in both Carlisle, where he used drawing, film, installation and collaborative working to engage with people about the future of the city, and Cockermouth, as it recovered from the devastating 2009 floods.
He has exhibited widely, notably at The Lowry's 'One Love' exhibition in Manchester in 2006-2007, the Kathmandu 'Open Door' exhibition, in 2008. He was a finalist in both the Royal Watercolour Society's 'Watercolour 21' exhibition, at the Bankside Gallery, London, in 2006 and the Singer & Friedlander/Sunday Times Watercolour Exhibition, at the Mall Galleries, London and touring to Manchester in 2005. He has also exhibited at the Royal Cambrian Academy of Art and his work was shortlisted for the international Celeste Art Prize, in 2007.
Derek is a former officer of the Parachute Regiment and has a degree in politics and a master’s degree in Contemporary Fine Art. He is a former Head of Culture Change at global management consultants Cap Gemini, where he worked as a government adviser, and has also worked for Saatchi and Saatchi.
His next project is a personal one, to walk the length of Hadrian’s Wall East to West, talk to people en route, to see why they are there and do some landscape painting...all to feature in an exhibition in Carlisle’s Crown Gallery, in Lonsdale Street, in January before returning to Afghanistan with the US forces.
