Lieutenants recreates sections of photographic portraits from major American Wars. The images are sourced from the Library of Congress and the Veterans’ History Project, both public American archives. Archives attempt to document and help the public remember, often honoring contributions and significant events. In the case of soldiers, this remembering is political– part of an agreement between the state and the individual (that the individual will be remembered) which helps the state continue to exist.
The Lieutenant drawings bring the viewer close to the soldier and yet maintain an intentional distance. At once faithfully documenting the folds of these particular uniforms, centered on the heart area of very real bodies, and at the same time depersonalizing those bodies by avoiding identifying facial features. Drawn on thick cotton paper and rubbed through in areas, the drawings convey a soft and vulnerable masculinity, emphasized further by their installation directly on the wall and unframed.