| Place | Oceania: Australia, Queensland, North Queensland, Torres Strait |
|---|---|
| Accession Number | ART96820 |
| Collection type | Art |
| Measurement | Overall: 349 x 327 cm |
| Object type | Textile |
| Physical description | gold fabric paint on commercial cotton fabric |
| Maker |
Ware, Rosie |
| Place made | Australia: Queensland, North Queensland, Torres Strait, Thursday Island |
| Date made | 2014-2015 |
| Conflict |
Second World War, 1939-1945 |
| Copyright |
Item copyright: AWM Licensed copyright |
Torres Strait Light Infantry Battalion
Description
Rosie Ware (born 1959) is a Torres Strait Islander (TSI) artist based on Waiben (Thursday) Island. An award winning textile artist she works primarily in lino-block, hand printed fabrics that combine traditional Torres Strait cultural production and symbolism with non-Indigenous imagery. In 2014 the Australian War Memorial commissioned Ware to retrospectively interpret the experience of the Second World War (SWW) and its legacy in the TSI.
"Torres Strait Light Infantry Battalion" is a three panelled textile work. The artist's father, Elia Ware (Q85109), served with the Torres Strait Islander Light Battalion and Ware has interwoven images relating to her own family history of military service with more general images of the Torres straits – before, during and after the SWW. These images have been hand carved and block and screen printed onto fabric.