Resilience in Times of Adversity: Contemporary Responses to WW2 in the Blue Mountains 1939-1950

Resilience in Times of Adversity: Contemporary Responses to WW2 in the Blue Mountains 1939-1950

17 August – 29 September

Coinciding with the 80^th anniversary of the commencement of WWII, Vivienne Dadour has curated the exhibition Resilience in Times of Adversity: Contemporary Responses to WW2 in the Blue Mountains that explores aspects of the personal, historical and political landscape of the Blue Mountains during, and post, WW2. Through the use of archival and historical material the exhibiting artists reflect on the many-sided nature of the tragedy of war and the resilience of the human spirit.

Installation artist Anne Graham pays homage to the many women and men who worked at the Lithgow Small Arms Factory; Chris Tobin (Darug) acknowledges the struggles of Aboriginal soldiers who were an occupied People, yet asked to be part of an imperialistic war; Fiona Davies responds to the resilience of returning soldiers suffering from infectious diseases when they experienced medical isolation in various facilities in the Blue Mountains during WW2; Sean O’Keeffe explores the fortitude of the many soldiers and military personnel who lived at ‘Hoaxville’ in facilities that housed chemical weapons in tunnels and sidings at Marrangaroo Army base in Lithgow; and Vivienne Dadour presents snapshots of life in the Blue Mountains through a collection of photographic archives.

A Blue Mountains Cultural Centre Exposé exhibition

Image: VIVIENNE DADOUR Katoomba Greets You 1939-1950, 2019, from
the work Snapshots 2019, photographic collage, various dimensions.

Visit the exhibition website HERE

View the exhibition catalogue HERE