There are growing calls for the Australian War Memorial to remove or amend its Roberts-Smith display, and now the artist behind two major works has weighed in.
The artist whose portraits of soldier Ben Roberts-Smith have been at the centre of a fierce debate surrounding their placement at the Australian War Memorial believes that the works should stay on display but be given additional context following last week’s federal court judgment.
At the time the paintings were unveiled the man depicted in them was considered a hero – but last week,, a federal court judge found that Roberts-Smith murdered four unarmed prisoners while deployed in Afghanistan. “I’ve often felt this in myriad ways,” says Zavros. “When I look at my favourite paintings in great museums overseas, you know, I have changed after 10 years – the work hasn’t changed, the world has changed around them. Suddenly, we might read something very differently after a time. But I think that’s the power of art – it doesn’t change, but we change around it.”
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