KIM BALDWIN
He Ain’t Heavy
Mixed media
220 x 76cm
Found objects are the raw materials of my art practice and they undergo a metamorphosis as I breathe new life into forgotten relics.
He Ain’t Heavy is largely a symbolic work which depicts troops, like belts of ammunition, traversing the bloodied battlefield.
I created this work to pay homage to stretcher-bearers, the often unsung heroes of World War 1. These men risked their own lives to retrieve the wounded from the battlefields and carry them to regimental aid posts, dressing stations and sometimes the distant casualty clearing stations, contending with difficult conditions and terrain. Their brave actions saved the lives of countless men.
I took the title of my work from the 1960s Hollies’ song and even though the song’s origin is not war related, I believe the lyrics encapsulate the qualities which are synonymous with the Gallipoli Campaign and these heroes.
