Artist recreates the horror of war with living painting, Gassed Redux
Fifty volunteers bring life to oil painting of soldiers under a mustard-gas attack
John Singer Sargent’s 1919 painting, Gassed, is taking on a new life thanks to the University of Calgary’s Founders’ Gallery.
The seven-foot by 20-foot oil painting depicts dozens of men lying dead, dying and injured from a mustard-gas attack on the battlefields of the First World War. The painting shows soldiers walking with their hand on the shoulder of the soldier in front of them, as they are led to a casualty tent.
Nearly a century later, artist Adad Hannah is recreating the image as a living picture to be seen at the Military Museums, titling it Gassed Redux.
It is to be projected onto a set built by Hannah and his team.
Hannah, who has created this form of art in the past, says recreating past art pieces isn’t easy work.
“They can be difficult, but it can be quite exciting to work on,” he said.
“About 50 volunteers have come to work on the project, helping build the structure, modelling — it’s always a group effort.”
Hannah said the reality of war has changed over time.
“It is hard for people to comprehend the horrors of war,” he said.
“I think that in the Sargent painting, it’s all young guys, but here it’s people from mixed ages, ethnicities. That’s important for me because, nowadays, war does affect everybody in a different ways than it used to.”
Curator Lindsey Sherman said this is the first piece of its kind in the Founders’ Gallery.
“One of the things I have done with the gallery — because we are a military museum often looking at historical events — is I’ve always tried to activate that history through a contemporary lens,” she said.
“Adad’s practise, which is really an activation of museums, was really a natural fit.”
Dressed in war equipment, volunteers stand in place for up to five minutes as Hannah photographs every detail of their look.
“Holding still is actually a lot harder than you think it is,” Sherman said with a laugh.
“We’re definitely making sure they stay hydrated and have enough sugars in them.”