98th Guards Airborne Division

What should the Australian War Memorial do with its heroic portraits of Ben Roberts-Smith?

Retrieved on: 
Monday, June 5, 2023

Justice Anthony Besanko ruled the newspapers had established, by the “balance of probabilities” (the standard of evidence in a civil lawsuit), that Roberts-Smith had committed war crimes.

Key Points: 
  • Justice Anthony Besanko ruled the newspapers had established, by the “balance of probabilities” (the standard of evidence in a civil lawsuit), that Roberts-Smith had committed war crimes.
  • Following the ruling, much public debate has focused on what the Australian War Memorial should do with Robert-Smith’s uniform, helmet and other artefacts of his on display.

The case of the oil paintings

    • The memorial also has two heroic oil painting portraits of Roberts-Smith by one of Australia’s leading artists, Michael Zavros.
    • These paintings were commissioned by the memorial in 2014.
    • Pistol Grip (Ben Roberts-Smith VC) is a larger-than-life-sized depiction of Roberts-Smith, camouflage arms outstretched, mimicking the action of holding a pistol.

Moral and ethical ambiguity

    • In 1992, the Canadian Airborne Regiment was deployed as peacekeepers to Somalia.
    • In 1993, 16-year-old Shidane Arone was found hiding in the Canadian base, believed to have been stealing supplies.
    • Master Corporal Clayton Matchee and his subordinate Private Kyle Brown were charged with his murder and torture.
    • It addresses an ethical grey area many soldiers face during active service when the hierarchy of command comes into direct conflict with conscience.

The complexity of contemporary art

    • Brandon’s curatorial decision to display Kearns’s Somalia paintings strike at the heart of what is special and important about contemporary war art in a national museum.
    • Contemporary art presents ethical and moral complexity, grey zones and a range of perspectives.
    • The portraits should be displayed in ways that address this complexity, capturing the evolving story of Roberts-Smith in explanatory wall text.
    • The most compelling contemporary art works – and the most valuable museum displays in our national institutions – are those that consider our complex stories, raise important and self-reflective questions, and challenge simplistic narratives.