Artist’s Statement

Title: Unsung soldiers

 

This mixed media sculpture was created through a process of refection, to capture the lived experiences of student nurses.

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Too often the reality of these experiences are overlooked, hidden behind the label of a ‘vocation’, and forgetting about the person behind the duty. This piece aims to bring attention to the cost of endured resilience through revealing the gradual erosion and shift in one’s sense of identity.

Merging the symbolism of military honour with the duty of care, the twelve war medals underscore how the sacrifices and hardships faced warrant acknowledgement. Instead of an honorary medal of recognition, these experiences are endured with humble watches instead of embellished medals.

 

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The faded natural hue of the ribbons evokes a sense of vulnerability, quiet fragility, and exposure. These muted tones are evident of a once bright and full-bodied hue, representing the diminished vitality of self that once was.

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The bottoms of the ribbons are stained with blood, representing both the weight of responsibilities and emotional toll that goes beneath the surface of ourselves. Revealing the reality that we are not supernatural beings, but humans who bear the weight of exhaustion and trauma.

The contrast of frilly and ornate ribbons with the frayed edges mirrors the inner complexity of individuals, people with rich interiors set against the reality that wears them down. The frayed edges reveal the slow unravelling of self, giving so much that their sense of identity becomes threadbare.

 

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From what hangs from these ribbons, are they medals or clockfaces? From these ribbons hang forms that resist a single definition or function. Are they given honour, or do they mark each hour endured; reflecting the dual roles we hold.

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Each with twelve imprints like a clock face, and numbers marking the quarters of twelve-hour cycle, at the centre is softened facial form.

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Unlike traditional war medals that bear the image of a monarch, symbolising loyalty and national service, these clockfaces hold an indistinct face. Their identities blur, is it a patient or their family member? Or perhaps is it the nurses loved one? The ambiguity asks deeper questions: to whom do we serve, give our time, our care, and ourselves to? Do we serve to fulfil the image we hold, or to honour our loved ones?

 

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Through my own grief and solidarity of living experience, I hope this piece is a testament to these ‘Unsung Soldiers’ by acknowledging the humanity beneath the uniform.