Sarah Winter

St. Militiae (Hunting Season), 2010
5m x 4m
Installation

The first innocent impression is that of a beautiful baroque ceiling of a castle or mansion. However, upon closer inspection all the horrific details or war are uncovered. Each golden ornament depicts fire arms, tanks, and munition, culminating in the colourful center into an accumulation of corpses. Although the work thematizes the ongoing war and terror around the world, it is not about taking sides and finding a guilty party. Soldiers, innocent bystanders, males, females, children, faceless representatives of every skin colour are all thrown together into one conglomeration of death. What the work really questions is the role the arms industry is playing in the world-wide scenario. Each weapon and/or munition which is sold contributes toward a profit which is so enormous that it might be characterized as "bathing in gold". The only happy faces seen in the work, therefore, are those of the armed angels parading around and controlling the structure.