Gympie Military Personnel Brought to Life Through Art

Gympie Regional Gallery has partnered with the Gympie RSL to launch a new exhibition which honours Australian and French military servicemen and women.**  

Aligning with Remembrance Day, the exhibition _Works on Paper: Guy Denning_ honours military personnel who served in World War I, World War II and post-World War II conflicts that hold a special connection to the Gympie Region.  

Exhibited by international artist Guy Denning, _Works on Paper: Guy Denning_ was inspired by a project he delivered in _La Feuillee_, a small town in Brittany in the north-west of France, in 2018. The exhibition will feature almost 50 artworks of Australian military personnel as well as the 112 original sketches from his 2018 French project and will be on display at the Gympie Regional Gallery and Gympie RSL Veteran Centre throughout October and November 2024. 

As part of his 2018 project, timed to align with the 100 year anniversary of the armistice, Denning created 112 life-size drawings of lost soldiers and pasted them around his village square. The temporary artworks were worn by the wind, rain, and time.  

“There were 112 names marked as lost during the years of the First World War; nearly a tenth of the village’s population, so I thought this project might make the actuality of that loss a little more concrete than the abstraction of numbers or a list of names,” Denning said. 

Gympie Mayor Glen Hartwig said the exhibition was particularly significant for the region, honouring Gympie’s rich military history. 

“Our region has a proud military heritage and fascinating stories, and this exhibition shows respect to our servicemen and women and honours the memory of the many Australians who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom,” Cr Hartwig said.  

“I congratulate the Gympie RSL for partnering with our Gallery to showcase this unique exhibition, and I encourage residents to visit the Gympie Regional Gallery or RSL Veteran Centre over the next month to check it out.” 

**Gympie Regional Gallery** 

39 Nash Street, Gympie 
On view 4 October - 16 November 
Open Tuesday to Friday 10am - 4pm, Saturday 10am – 2pm 

**Gympie RSL Veteran Centre** 

44 Nash Street, Gympie 
On view 15 October - 11 November 
Open Monday to Friday 9am - 3pm 

All further information can be found at the Gallery website [http://www.gympie.qld.gov.au/gallery](http://www.gympie.qld.gov.au/gallery "smartCard-inline")