Artist breaks silence on controversial Ben Roberts-Smith portrait

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The artist whose portraits of soldier Ben Roberts-Smith have been at the centre of a fierce debate surrounding their placement at the Australian War Memorial believes that the works should remain up, but be given additional context following last week’s federal court judgement.

“I think that is always a good policy around contentious works,” acclaimed artist Michael Zavros told this masthead, breaking his silence on the growing furore around the War Memorial’s Roberts-Smith display.

Ben Roberts-Smith in front of his portrait at the Australian War Memorial in 2014, painted by Michael Zavros.Credit: Jay Cronan

Zavros rarely takes on commissions – normally his work is directed by his own ideas and passions – but in 2014 he made a rare exception, producing two portraits of soldier Ben Roberts-Smith for the War Memorial.

At the time the paintings were unveiled the man depicted in them was considered a hero – but last week, in a landmark decision, a federal court judge found that Roberts-Smith murdered four unarmed prisoners while deployed in Afghanistan. Since that judgement, the result of a lengthy defamation suit brought on by Roberts-Smith against this masthead, a fiery debate has ensued about what should be done with the display dedicated to Roberts-Smith at the War Memorial.

Zavros himself has stayed quiet until now, hesitant to “add to the noise around those works”.

“I did my job is as an artist, and I saw something, I painted it and I think those paintings have been speaking to us for 10 years,” he says.

Artist Michael Zavros in 2016.Credit: Paul Harris

The entry for Pistol Grip – the larger of the two portraits – on the War Memorial’s website incudes a quote from Zavros describing when the artist asked Roberts-Smith to show him a fighting stance. “He went to this whole other mode. He was suddenly this other creature and I immediately saw all these other things. It showed me what he is capable of … it was just there in this flash.”

In a statement released late last week on behalf of the Australian War Memorial Council Kim Beazley, the chair of the council, acknowledged the gravity of the court findings but added that it was “one step in a longer process”. Regarding the display – which at present does not mention Roberts-Smith’s war crimes – the War Memorial is “considering carefully the additional content and context to be included in these displays”.

It’s a complex issue being debated across the art world. What happens to a work that captures a specific moment in time when the conversation shifts?

“I’ve often felt this in a myriad ways,” says Zavros. “When I look at my favourite paintings in great museums overseas, you know, I have changed after 10 years – the work hasn’t changed, the world has changed around them. Suddenly, we might read something very differently after a time. But I think that’s the power of art – it doesn’t change, but we change around it.”

Two portraits of former SAS soldier Ben Roberts-Smith by artist Michael Zavros, seen at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Asked about the War Memorial considering adding additional content and context given the judgement, Zavros says he supports this approach and would be interested in being part of those conversations.

When contacted by this masthead for comment about their plans or who might be involved in the conversations about adding new context the Australian War Memorial would not elaborate any further beyond the media statement released on June 2. The War Memorial did not confirm whether they had actually spoken to Zavros about the future of the display.

“I never think art should ever be removed – I think it should be contextualised over time, and these paintings have become history paintings now,” says Zavros.

“I never try to control the reading of my works. So much of what I do is quite open-ended. I don’t like to preach to my audience. I’m not drawn to art that does that. I’m really interested in holding a mirror up to my viewer – my work is at its best when it does this.”

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