HOMEFRONT (2019)
A new kind of war memorial
What happens when you destroy a war memorial and what do you put in its place?
These questions faced Arts Officer, Colin James, and Project Manager and Artist, Amanda Gibson as they looked for ways to replace the much-loved Greensborough War Memorial statues, which had stood for 14 years in a local park in Melbourne, Australia. Carved from cypress, and still rooted in the soil, moisture had crept up inside the figures and rotted them from within.
HOMEFRONT - a new kind of war memorial, begins with the burning of the old statues in a ceremonial fire. What unfolds, through interviews with local war veterans, are narratives of terrible injuries, paralysing fear, humour, and love. Homefront is a rare insider’s view of a sculpture project where the people at the heart of these stories drove the design.
Extraordinary footage documents the process of collecting the stories, designing sculptures and carving full-sized figures from blocks of raw cypress using chainsaws. The original carver, local legend Leigh Conkie, is joined by world champion Hikaru Kodama from Japan to realise Amanda Gibson’s designs. Joining them, blacksmith Roland Danenhauer, forges everything from an aeroplane propeller to a horse bridle, dog collar and poppies, with a well-hefted hammer and a keen eye.
Together they create a new type of war memorial and a new way of telling stories of war and of homecoming.
Michael Wilkins
Director | Director of Photography | Editor
Amanda Gibson
Producer
Colin James
Project Initiator | Executive Producer
Arts & Cultural Services, Team Leader, Banyule City Council
Hannes Berger
Arts & Cultural Services, Team Leader, Banyule City Council (from 2019 )
Neil Grant
Author | Writing Workshop Facilitator
Jeremy Shaw
Sound Recordist
Mark Farrow
Sound Re-recording Mixer
Dale Warren
Sound Effects Editor