International exhibit set to open at the Lockyer Valley Art Gallery

A highly original photographic exhibition that documents the social aftermath inflicted on Australian society by the First World War is coming soon to the Lockyer Valley Art Gallery.

Accompanied by thought-provoking quotes sourced from Australia’s archives, this timely exhibition raises the profile of the traumatizing impact of the Great War as suffered by Australia’s grieving women and its returned soldiers.

With a narrative of consequences of war, this series of 25 large-format montage photographs features Australia’s famed Diggers and the Belgian Army’s Flanders-based bomb disposal team.

Lockyer Valley Community Services Portfolio Councillor, Michael Hagan said the exhibition was produced on the former battlefields of Passchendaele by London-based photographer, Ian Alderman.

“Ian Alderman is the only artist to have been given full access to the dangerous work and facilities of DOVO-SEDEE, the Belgium armed forces bomb disposal team responsible for clearing the ordinance.

“The exhibition is touring Australia after having previously been exhibited at the Palais Des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland and the In Flanders Fields Museum in Ypres, Belgium, so it is a major coup to host such works right here in the Lockyer Valley.

“Come along and see these moving pieces for yourself,” Cr Hagan said.

Ian Alderman said it has taken him six years to produce the exhibition and bring it to Australia.

“I’ve created it with our younger generations in mind, so that we may never forget how truly devastating the physical and psychological consequences of war are,” he said.

Recovering The Past is on display at Lockyer Valley Art Gallery from 20 Octoberto 3 December 2023, and is free to attend.

For further information, contact the Lockyer Valley Art Gallery on 07 5466 3434.