A new exhibition at Beechwood Cemetery is giving visitors a look at the Canadian Armed Forces through the eyes of artists who were embedded alongside military personnel. The Canadian Forces Artists Program Group 10 Exhibition opened Monday at the Beechwood National Memorial Centre, featuring work from Michael Love, Megan Dickie, Sora Park and Tanya Busse. Each artist was given access to Canadian Armed Forces personnel, activities, and operations between 2022 and 2023, with their experiences later forming the basis of the work now on display. Photographer Michael Love travelled to Latvia as part of Operation Reassurance, where he documented Canadian and allied soldiers taking part in NATO training exercises. “I lived in the barracks with the soldiers for ten days, so that was definitely a different experience,” Love said. He said the experience gave him a better understanding of military culture and the relationships between soldiers outside their formal duties. Love said he deliberately avoided giving soldiers much direction while photographing them, allowing them to present themselves naturally to the camera. Artist Sora Park’s experience took her to France, where she observed the Canadian Armed Forces’ Casualty Identification Program and the work of forensic anthropologists attempting to identify Canadian soldiers whose remains had been discovered decades after their deaths. Park said she entered a recovery room at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission where the fragmented remains of two soldiers had been arranged on separate tables. While forensic teams measured bones and collected DNA samples, Park documented what she was seeing through sketches. “For me as an artist, my way of gathering data was sketching,” she said. Those sketches were later transformed into the artwork now being shown at Beechwood. Park said she became interested in the Casualty Identification Program partly through questions about her own family history. She said the work can offer answers to families who have lived for generations without knowing what happened to relatives who served during past conflicts. “I think the casualty identification program offers answers to families who are missing that missing puzzle in their family history,” Park said. Megan Dickie was embedded with Canadian Armed Forces members involved in Operation Golden Orb ahead of the coronation of King Charles III in 2023. Her works include photographs printed on silk and hand-painted using a batik-style process. Dickie said she focused on the individuality of military members, particularly the way their hands and body language differed despite their uniforms. She said conversations about uniforms also became a way to learn more about the people wearing them, including the history and traditions associated with different military units. The exhibition also includes work from Tanya Busse, who was embedded with Canadian Armed Forces members supporting Operation Reassurance in Latvia. Her work explores the relationship between the body, technology, military systems, and landscape. The exhibition comes as the Canadian Forces Artists Program marks its 25th anniversary. Beechwood is also marking 25 years since its designation as the National Cemetery of Canada. The Group 10 Exhibition will remain on display at Beechwood Cemetery until Dec. 6.
