Of Hearts and Minds
Glue Factory, Glasgow (2015) Collaboration w/ Scott Caruth
Of Hearts and Minds is a collaborative documentation of ‘Military Odyssey’, a multi period military reenactment festival held annually in Maidstone, Kent. Advertised as a ‘pageant of power’, the festival incorporates over 4,000 re-enactors, military vehicle displays, combat simulations, and living history encampments. The event spans from the ancient world to the Napoleonic era, both World Wars, Vietnam and current day conflict in the Middle East. This resulted in depictions of disparate historical narratives and events occurring simultaneously within close proximity to one another, over the course of three days.
Characterised by an attempt to navigate and document the complexities of the experience and its various ideological undercurrents, the exhibition was a culmination of the artist's response to the documentary material that was accumulated throughout the festival, as well as the wider political and cultural implications that it presents.