Wartime Wendy
Ann Verdcourt, Artist
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About the Work
“For
me,
this
piece
brings
to
mind
the
unconventional
and
brave
steps
that
women
made
into
the
working
world
during
the
Second
World
War
-
and
the
way
that
wearing
a
uniform
temporarily
removed
their
individuality.
Wartime
Wendy
could
be
my
Aunty
Eva
who
was
a
Women's
Army
Auxiliary,
and
who
much
later
in
her
life
taught
me
how
to
make
daisy
chains.
A
friend
of
mine
was
painted
as
Wartime
Wendy
by
Julia
Holden
in
2019
so
I
have
seen
two
versions
of
this
work.”
- Scott Flutey for My Choice September 2021
This work is significant in that it draws on Verdcourt’s experience of growing up in wartime England and also her love of art history. Where some of her other ceramic busts are direct copies of figures from paintings, this work is a curious blend of art historical references and Verdcourt’s own personal memories.
"Verdcourt grew up in Luton, England in the midst of World War Two. She vividly remembers during the war the surfaces of buildings being covered in painted camouflage and roofs covered with vegetation to deceive German bomber crews. Coupled with an absence of signposts and nights spent in the air raid shelter, wartime England must have seemed a surreal place to a child.
Here Verdcourt borrows the sitter from Picasso’s 1909 painting Woman with a fan, dresses her in a military-style hat and washes her over with camouflage, as though she is an inhabitant of the artist’s childhood wartime Luton. "
- Object label from 'Ceramics: Ann Verdcourt A Survey' Sep - Dec 2010, Sarjeant Gallery.
- Scott Flutey for My Choice September 2021
This work is significant in that it draws on Verdcourt’s experience of growing up in wartime England and also her love of art history. Where some of her other ceramic busts are direct copies of figures from paintings, this work is a curious blend of art historical references and Verdcourt’s own personal memories.
"Verdcourt grew up in Luton, England in the midst of World War Two. She vividly remembers during the war the surfaces of buildings being covered in painted camouflage and roofs covered with vegetation to deceive German bomber crews. Coupled with an absence of signposts and nights spent in the air raid shelter, wartime England must have seemed a surreal place to a child.
Here Verdcourt borrows the sitter from Picasso’s 1909 painting Woman with a fan, dresses her in a military-style hat and washes her over with camouflage, as though she is an inhabitant of the artist’s childhood wartime Luton. "
- Object label from 'Ceramics: Ann Verdcourt A Survey' Sep - Dec 2010, Sarjeant Gallery.
This record has related works.
Measurements
450mm x 330mm x 175mm
Media
ceramic with slips and stains
Description
Head and shoulders bust of a woman in military uniform with cap, painted in camouflage colours across her face as well as her clothing.
Credit Line
Collection of the Sarjeant Gallery Te Whare o Rehua Whanganui. Purchased, 2010
Collection Type
Permanent collection
Acquisition Date
27 Aug 2010
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Accession Number:
2010/4/3