University of Tasmania, Australia

Shaun Gladwell describes his video art as “performance landscapes”, and whether they are set in rural or urban settings, they present a juxtaposition of the visual against the environment where it exists. He often uses filmic devices such as slow-motion and long pans to capture both tightly choreographed and improvised performances. The resulting works are surprisingly hypnotic and beautifully poetic, due to their distortion of speed, reversed gravity or overall displacement of space and time.  

In October 2009 Gladwell travelled through Afghanistan and several bases in the Middle East as the Australian War Memorial's official war artist.  For two weeks he was attached to the Australian Defence Force (ADF) which undertakes a range of training, logistical, reconnaissance, and battle operations as part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan.  

Gladwell’s work is a significant contribution to a tradition of official war art that began during the First World War. His use of the video medium is the first in the history of the official war art scheme. This exhibition will present Gladwell’s official war artist work, showcasing 3 video works of art, 10 photographs, and 2 paintings. These works include those Gladwell created for his commission as the 2009 official war artist to Afghanistan and a 2011 commissioned portrait of Mark Donaldson VC.