The Australian War Memorial Collection. Test site
In keeping with Ellen Jose's tendency to combine exploration of the personal with wider external issues, 'Long winding trail' is both an intimate homage to her father and his soldier persona, and a reference to events of global consequence. Gregorio "Gorie" Phillipe Jose, the uniformed infantry serviceman of Torres Strait Islander, Filipino and Portuguese descent, who is featured in the work, served during the Second World War in New Guinea, mostly on Bougainville. The long winding trail of the title refers to the marches and journeys undertaken by Jose and his fellow servicemen during active duty, but also to the iconic Kokoda Trail. The repeated shadowy figure of Jose, standing at ease, forms a diagonal counterpoint to the layered and symbolic forms within which it is repetitively embedded. The figure is thus shown as stationary yet mobile, and the trail leads from one blue edged shore to another. 'Long winding trail' can be viewed as a composite phenomenon. It is part of the rich cultural heritage which is central to Jose's work; and in addition to its discrete and complex compositional statement, it is a brilliant fragment in Jose's diverse practice. The work is one element in a portfolio of many luminous parts.
Representing troops of 25th Australian Infantry Brigade crossing a creek along the Kokoda Trail. This picture was intended to represent a patrol pushing along a side track, but it is typical of any fo
'Wait-a-while' is a commemorative portrait tracing the wartime experience of Pte "Gorie" Phillipe Jose. It grapples with the psychological impact of war, and the lack of recognition received by Pte Jo
'Torres Strait Lightening Fighter' was conceived as a triptych in series by Ellen Jose titled 'Black Digger Ghost Fighter'. It is both a commemorative portrait of her father's Pte "Gorie" Jose's wart
In 1992 Ellen Jose (b.1951) held an exhibition in Melbourne titled "Black Diggers-Ghost Fighters" to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the beginning of the Kokoda campaign in New Guinea, as well as
This trail leads up a very steep mountain and along a razor back ridge from the 9 Battalion road head on the Numa Numa trail to George, Little George Hills and Arty Ridge where the 9 Battalion saw its
Ivan Clear Stretton (31903) served as a Gunner in the 13th Australia Artillery Brigade during the First World War. Between 1917 and 1918 he served in France and Belgium in the Ypres and Somme regions.