Art
Broken Faces
To mark the centenary of the WW1 armistice, this
series of paintings and sculptures by Matthew Healey documents facial reconstruction on survivors of WW1.
“What I thought I knew about war came from The Green Berets, Where Eagles Dare and
Commando comics, until I read Wilfred Owen’s poem Dulce et Decorum Est aged 12 and I started to see war for the vile, insane thing that it is.
“I’ve always been fascinated by surgery, especially reconstructive surgery, and in how the body heals.
“At art school I saw Otto Dix’s painting Skat Players for the first time and despite the horrific subject matter I found it profoundly beautiful. I’ve been inspired by the drawings of Henry Tonks and the amazing masks made by the American sculptor Anna Coleman.
“But the reason I decided to have this exhibition was to pay tribute to the soldiers who aren’t remembered
and who are rarely seen.
“After the First World War only in France were soldiers with facial injuries invited
to Remembrance Day parades, in England they where not. 100 years later and sadly things have not changed very much.”
Nov 3-15, 10am-5pm daily. For more info, visit www.centrespacegallery.com/?post_type=exhibitions&p=1526
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