The diorama displays two meanings of the expression “Lest We Forget”. On the left is one of the stereotypical moments of the Great War. On the right is a metaphor for the memory of the war - rusty twisted iron and as if they came out of old photographs figures of soldiers who look at the viewer.
Diorama, as a genre of battle painting, is all about a captured moment. Before you see the dramatic moment of a breakthrough in a line of trenches - one of the two German machine gunners was shot or wounded and a gap appeared in the rifle line. - Faster, faster! - British soldiers rushed into it.
The work is full of details - spent cartridges, machine gun belts, which are scratch built.
Sandbags are also a piece product, each glued together from a napkin selected according to the texture, filled with soda and tied with an appropriate thread.
Then, from such bags, just like in a real trench, a parapet is laid out. In total, over 80 sandbags were made.
There are no trifles in such work - there are details and nuances that can completely develop the plot. In the palm of the dead German machine gunner (in exact accordance with historical photos, made independently) there is a porcelain ball on a thread - this is a pin, pulling which activates the grenade. Maybe in a moment there will be an explosion that will take the lives of everyone nearby. We don’t know what will happen next - the viewer will have to find the answer to this question.
Diorama is 3D battle painting, an art form that literally allows you to look at an event from different angles. From the crater - we see the remains of uniforms and equipment in the muddy water - a soldier emerges, hurrying towards a gap in the barbed wire.
Using acrylic and oil paints, the texture of the material is shown - the metal of the helmet, the leather of belts and knee pads, the worn uniform and canvas bags for grenades - and the emotion of a person who is wounded.
If on the left we see a captured moment in time, on the right we see space OUTSIDE of time. Mirror of our memory.
The commander, standing at a distance, looks up somewhere. Conducts his dialogue with Heaven, or maybe wanders along the paths of his own memory.
The soldiers look at the viewer tiredly, without reproach or challenge. We did everything we could. Remember this.
The contrast between the hilly ground, pockmarked with craters and trenches on the left, and the smooth, mirror-like surface on the right is intentional. On the left is reality that has become memory. On the right is memory embodied in reality. The mirror surface also allows the viewer to literally see themselves, perhaps asking how is this reflected in me?
The English tank Mark IV Male is a fairly detailed TACOM model. The painting was carried out in accordance with archival photos of those years. The damage to the rusty part was done in accordance with archival photos from the Great War. The Mark IV D51 Female “Deborah”, which fought in Flesquières during the Battle of Cambrai, was shot down on November 20, 1917, was taken as the basis. In 1998, during special archaeological excavations, it was raised, and since 2017 it has been exhibited in a specially built museum in Cambrai.
Analyzing the memoirs of participants in the Great War and archival photographs, additional equipment was placed in the luggage compartment on the roof.
Attention to the details:
a - All the equipment in the trunk bears traces of use - fuel drips on flimzy canisters, a shovel that was used, a rusty cover on the track, a frayed tarpaulin.
b The brass tube of the sight is also covered with corrosion - patina.
c -Please note - in the place of the driver... the figure of driver; not so obvious for ordinary viewer but priceless for real connoisseur.
d -The sponson of the tank model - like the real tank - shows signs of dirt.
The base for diorama is scratchbuild, the decoration of the trenches - like in real trenches from the Great War - is made of wood. For detailing of ground and trenches - some of the elements were made from scratch, some were converted – used 7 sets of aftermarket and equipment.
The cast on the diorama includes 11 characters, that made from 6 sets of figures dedicated to the Great War. Everywhere, straps for helmets, belts and swivels for weapons were added, equipment was added in accordance with archival photos - pouches, etc.
Tank model TAKOM, the damage was done by hand in accordance with archival photographs, chains were added to the commander's hatch, equipment was added to the roof rack (taken from 3 different sets).
Everything is painted with acrylic and oil paints.
Everything is painted with acrylic and oil paints.
