WWI ANZAC Ghost Soldier Commission
In 2020 I was commissioned to produce a prototype ‘Ghost Soldier’ out of bird wire depicting a WW1 Australian ANZAC soldier. This commission soldier was created to help generate support for a large scale art installation project of 120 ghost soldiers at Albany’s Avenue of Honour. The Ghost Soldier project, like the Field Of Light site-specific installation by Bruce Munro in 2019, will commemorate the lives of the 30,000 young Australian and New Zealand troops who left Albany’s Port to fight in Gallipoli and the Somme in 1914. The Ghost Soldier project is being planned to coincide with Albany’s 200th Anniversary celebrations in 2026.
The prototype sculpture began construction in September 2020 and took approximately 55 hours to complete. Many hours of planning, measuring and studying old black and white photos were required to determine the proper uniform dimensions and details.
I used a mannequin to create the basic body volumes which were then shaped and supported on a welded steel frame. The figure was finally “dressed” in the WWI ANZAC infantry uniform.
The project is gathering support and was further promoted by a news story broadcast on GWN7 on February 4, 2021.