Archie Moore, Metal Meddles, 2026,
from Remnants Of My Father, Silver-plated brass and copper, ribbon, 4 objects, variable dimensions, TCG023861
Pallion Art Collection
WAR MEDALS
Five metres! Four, three, two, one! Gold to Australia! Gold to Australia! Gold to Australia! Gold to Australia! Gold! Gold!
(‘Give Up For Australia’, TISM)
When applying for a mining lease, my father used the same acronym as his military unit – AMEC (2nd/1st Australian Mechanical Equipment Company) – for his business name, the initials now standing for Australian Mineral Exploration Company. The unit was used for plant operations like bulldozing, grading roads and airstrips. My father’s medals, the most common medals for Australian Army service – the War Medal 1939–1945, the 1939–1945 Star, the Pacific Star, and the Australian Service Medal 1939–1945 – were delivered to an address of another soldier’s mother: c/o ‘Mrs Cooper’ of Kallangur. These medals ended up in the bin because my father rejected the idea of war and said it was ‘stupid’ and a ‘waste of time’. He especially denounced the jingoism leading up to the commemorative national day and was greatly offended by how some would revere the national flag, telling me, ‘It’s just a piece of cloth.’
Five metres! Four, three, two, one! Gold to Australia! Gold to Australia! Gold to Australia! Gold to Australia! Gold! Gold!
(‘Give Up For Australia’, TISM)
When applying for a mining lease, my father used the same acronym as his military unit – AMEC (2nd/1st Australian Mechanical Equipment Company) – for his business name, the initials now standing for Australian Mineral Exploration Company. The unit was used for plant operations like bulldozing, grading roads and airstrips. My father’s medals, the most common medals for Australian Army service – the War Medal 1939–1945, the 1939–1945 Star, the Pacific Star, and the Australian Service Medal 1939–1945 – were delivered to an address of another soldier’s mother: c/o ‘Mrs Cooper’ of Kallangur. These medals ended up in the bin because my father rejected the idea of war and said it was ‘stupid’ and a ‘waste of time’. He especially denounced the jingoism leading up to the commemorative national day and was greatly offended by how some would revere the national flag, telling me, ‘It’s just a piece of cloth.’