QUEEN AND COUNTRY - A Project by Steve McQueen
- © Steve McQueen, courtesy Thomas Dane Gallery, London, Marian Goodman, NY
Is Queen and Country anti the war in Iraq?
- It is neither pro-war nor anti-war. It is a work of art that helps us reflect upon the many complex feelings we have about war. It seems, for those who are against the war, my project is regarded as a good thing. For people who support the war, it is regarded as a good thing too. This work is like a sphere – roll it this way, roll it that way. In the end, it's an art work – a tribute to the deceased and a reflection on the validity of war, the structure of power and notions of national identity.
How can a stamp be a work of art?
- I am best known as a film and video maker, but it was too dangerous to film in Iraq.
Cinema tells stories. Often, by putting the camera at a different angle, I ask questions about who is telling the story and why, what we understand from the story, and who are those watching or listening.
While struggling to work out how I could fulfil this commission, I caught sight of a stamp.
More than any film I could make, an official set of Royal Mail stamps struck me as an intimate but distinguished way of highlighting the sacrifice of specific individuals in defence of our national ideals. It would create thousands of individual moments of response to a face-to-face meeting with those who have died in our name.
A stamp is a little like an individual frame of film.
The arrival on our doormats of letters carrying such stamps would involve us all in an interaction which is both intimate and public.
Queen and Country is a particularly important and meaningful work for me in that it is a collaboration with the families of the deceased. The images are each chosen by the next of kin.
As real stamps they will become an intimate reflection of national loss that touches all of us – every household, every office. A great project and one which I support wholeheartedly. Have you included all of the names of those who have died? And are there plans to add additional ones for those who inevitably will die before the UK withdraws from Iraq?
- Yes – this is a work in progress, one which will continue until Britain’s current involvement in Iraq ceases and all bereaved families have been invited to collaborate.
I don't think a better suggestion could be made to show our support for all the men and women who have served our country so well and lost their lives doing so. I would however like to know if something similar will be done to mark the memory of those who have died in Afghanistan?
- I was commissioned by the Imperial War Museum as a war artist to respond to the conflict in Iraq. Langlands and Bell and Paul Seawright were commissioned in 2002 to respond to the war in Afghanistan. Their work was exhibited at the Imperial war Museum in 2003 and some of it is currently on display in ‘War Artists in the Middle East’.
Though the focus of Queen and Country is the conflict in Iraq, I hope that the work will encourage people to remember and acknowledge the ultimate sacrifice that all British military personnel have made for their country. I’m so sorry to disappoint anyone who would have liked someone they have lost involved in this project. How many signatures do you require on the petition to realise your work?
- Unfortunately we do not have a magic number which, when we reach, tips the balance in favour of the stamps being issued. In launching an online petition we are simply seeking to demonstrate the national appetite for such a commemoration.
Though I am very pleased to come this far, it is only half way, and I am passionately keen to continue the campaign for my commission to be complete. The public appeal may help to persuade the Royal Mail to issue them in due course, saving the work from what might otherwise be permanent limbo. I'm currently a serving member in the army and think it's a brilliant thing your doing however my wife is a bit unsure. Are all the families in agreement and showing support?
- Queen and Country is a particularly important and meaningful work for me in that it is a collaboration with the families of the deceased and potentially the whole nation. I acknowledge a huge debt of gratitude to the families.
Each of the bereaved families was invited to take part and, if they chose to do so, then the next of kin selected a picture to be used in the work. At the start of the project 115 families were asked to participate, of whom 97 agreed. Since then 41 new families have been approached and the project has been updated with 39 new additions.
The project will continue until the British Forces leave Iraq. Many of the bereaved families have voiced their support for the commemorative work. As Mrs Julie Maddison, Mother of Christopher Maddison (Royal Marines, died 30 March 2003) has said, ‘A commemorative stamp is a small price to pay for a life but it is a respectful way to remind us all of those who gave their lives for the war in Iraq whether we agree with the war or not.
Each family was also consulted about the online appeal for real stamps. If Royal Mail do decide to publish the stamps, will some or all of the profits be given to charities such as the Royal British Legion or the British Limbless Ex Servicemans Association?
- This is not something that I have discussed with the Royal Mail but it is certainly something I can raise. Thank you for the thoughtful suggestion.
Why does this project only include soldiers who have lost their lives in Iraq and not those who have been killed in Afghanistan?
- As an artist I was commissioned by the Imperial War Museum to create a work in response to the conflict in Iraq, and further to this I actually travelled to Basra in 2003. It is not a question of excluding or ignoring the soldiers who have lost their lives in Afghanistan, but simply that my commission was to reflect the conflict in Iraq.
Where can the work be viewed, albeit in its incomplete state?
The Art Fund is touring Queen and Country to museums and galleries across the UK as part of its campaign to gain public support for Steve McQueen's vision for Royal Mail to officially issue the stamps. It will open at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art on 3 December until 15 February 2009. Admission is free and the exhibition is open from 10am to 5pm, seven days a week. (Closed 25 and 26 December. Open 1 January from 12 noon to 5pm.)
Do you know when Royal Mail might issue these stamps? And will all of the stamps in Queen and Country be made?
As yet we do not know whether Royal Mail will agree to issue the stamps, so it’s not possible to say when they might be available. I would urge everyone to sign the online petition, as it is an effective way for people to demonstrate to Royal Mail that they support the campaign and that they wish for the stamps to be produced.
Decisions about the practicalities of how the stamps would be issued and which ones would go into circulation would need to be taken following full consultation with Royal Mail.
Are all of the people who have lost their lives in the conflict featured on the stamps?
No. 156 families have been approached to be involved with the project to date, of which 136 have agreed.
The aim is to continue adding to the work. However, out of respect for families of soldiers who lose their life in Iraq we do not approach them for the project until several months after their loved one is killed.