AUKUS Chronicles/Commentary: Reflections on the 20th Anniversary of 9/11
Viva Las Shiva, acrylic, collage on stretched canvas 2004. Carl Gopalkrishnan
On the 20th Anniversary of 9/11, it feels natural to me to revisit the paintings I did from 2003 to 2005 to process the profoundly altered society we were navigating at that time. We are seeing the same thing today by even considering a NATO-style block of China and bringing unwanted tensions to the ‘Indo-Pacific’. Our leaders are using language that is the same as what was used before the invasion of Iraq. ‘Othering’ language laced with racially questionable assumptions.
In hindsight, I can see how we altered our world by not examining our subconscious stories and myths. These are most saturated among young, inexperienced and not very diverse policy tribes - at least in Australia. I found the policy profession after this event (9/11) no longer demanded of our practitioners the desire to study the breadth and scope of human history, philosophy, faith and human emotions that we now exclude from the definition of "knowledge". Culture became invisible, and perhaps that’s why this painting has India’s God Vishnu in it; warning I that the traditional values of the public service and diplomacy - outsourcing its mind, body and soul - is a walk towards a dark future. Let’s change the story shall we?
Of course you have to adapt, but then you don't want to lose that 'something' which make you believe that human existence is worthwhile, and even beautiful, even in its most woeful moments. So I refuse in many ways the pressure to appear contemporary in my work as a policy analyst and adviser today. I still use pencil and paper, even an eraser, a fountain pen, and bury my phone in a leather satchel that is worn and scratched when I'm with a human being in pain.
I'm thankful for these tools. I still find them useful in my analysis. I find people of different backgrounds connect better with my work when I am myself.
This is a painting called Viva Las Shiva (2003). Acrylic, collage on stretched canvas by Carl Gopalkrishnan. A few years later I did a photo shoot with my niece Lulu and I cut up a cardboard makeshift Twin Towers with tape and felt tipped marker.
My 2008 cover photograph for Vancouver arts magazine Front Magazine.
