HMAS Kanimbla (II) alongside Port-Rashid Dubai
Courtesy of the Australian War Memorial
HMAS Kanimbla in port at Dubai. Peter Churcher recalled, “Before I had even got on the ship I was looking forward to doing some nocturnal images of the ship assuming that the lights of the ship would be fully lit. Only to find that when I arrived on the ship it was blackened at night; you couldn’t see your hand in front of you. The windows were covered up. Given my disappointment at not being able to make nocturnal images, I waited till the ship came into the port at Dubai and worked on this nocturne scene on board the deck of the Kanimbla. The view is looking out over the port and its activity. I did a lot of nocturnal scenes in Diego Garcia (with the Airforce) but my aim was to do a nocturnal scene with the Navy. Nocturnal scenes; it’s one of the things I do. Nocturnal images are one of my favourite subjects. What can look ordinary by day can become magical at night. I have painted many scenes around Melbourne in parks down at Melbourne port capturing these nocturnal things.”
- About Peter Churcher
Peter Churcher was brought up in a household involved in the arts. He is the son of Betty Churcher, who was the director of the National Art Gallery of Australia from 1990-1997. Peter Churcher's first qualifications though, were in music, not art. Travelling through Europe after gaining his Licentiate for Piano Performance from Trinity College, London, he visited a great many galleries and decided to return to his original love, painting. In 1991 he graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Painting) from Prahran School of Art and Design, now Deakin University. He held his first solo exhibition in 1994.
In 2002 Peter Churcher was commissioned as the Australian War Artist to document the Australian Navy in the Persian Gulf. He was sent to the Persian Gulf and Diego Garcia, where he recorded the people and operations of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). Churcher’s paintings and drawings of the Australian military's engagement in the Coalition against Terrorism are on show at the Australian War Memorial.
During his commission he produced many oil paintings and drawings of works characterised by spontaneity, a refreshing directness, and a fascination with the figurative. For the first three weeks, he experienced life with the RAN on board the HMAS Kanimbla and Adelaide. His images range from the claustrophobic engine room to officers at work on the ship’s bridge. Churcher's work captures the day-to-day experiences of today's defence force personnel, while harking back to older art traditions and styles. His images provide a valuable insight into the nature of modern warfare.
Churcher exhibits regularly in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane at privately run galleries. His work is held in the collections of the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra; the National Portrait Gallery, Canberra; the Australian War Memorial; Canberra and the Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery, Victoria. He has entered the Archibald prize ten times and been hung six times. He has been hung twice in the Sulman Prize.
Churcher is currently living and working in Barcelona, Spain. He was recently awarded first prize in “El Concurso de Grabados” (Printmaking Prize) de Sant Lluc, Barcelona, 2008.
Artist statement:
“Since graduating from art school, I have been primarily concerned with the painting of the human figure in a narrative context and the depiction of the human presence - that is the Portrait. This focus all stems from my devotion to the great figurative masters such as Velasquez and Rembrandt and my firm belief and personal quest to depict our own surrounding world of visual, sensory and emotional stimuli through paint on canvas.”
- About FairmilesHMAS Kanimbla (ll)
HMAS Kanimbla was one of two former United States Navy (USN) Tank Landing Ships purchased in by the RAN to bolster its amphibious capability. USS Saginaw was officially handed over to the RAN and commissioned as HMAS Kanimbla on 29 August 1994. Between August 1995 and December 2000. Kanimbla underwent an extensive modernisation in Sydney and Newcastle to convert the vessel to a Landing Platform Amphibious.
More reading
- Additional resources for Peter Churcher
- Additional resources for FairmilesHMAS Kanimbla (ll)
- FAIRMILES – Overview Of Vessels
- Harbour Defence Motor Launches, Seaward Defence Motor Launches & Seaward Defence Boats
- HMAS HDML 1324 - Wikipedia
- World War II – The Fairmile Story (wrightsons.com.au)
- Coastal Forces of the Royal Australian Navy - Wikipedia
- HMAS Kanimbla (II), The Sea Power Centre (navy.gov.au)