When the prize celebrations finish, artist Kat Rae will head home and tuck her daughter into bed, hoping she’s proud of her mum.
The nine-year-old’s father Andrew will not be there – he took his own life when she was just two years old, following a long battle with service-related post-traumatic stress disorder.
A towering pile of correspondence with the Department of Veterans’ Affairs leading up to and following his suicide – what Rae calls death admin paperwork or “Deathmin”- has won the 2024 Napier Waller Art Prize.
The prize showcases the work of Australian Defence Force (ADF) artists.
The 3000-page pile, as tall as the artist herself, is made up of requests for financial support before and after Andrew died, and documents regarding the department’s investigations into why he died.
“The DVA were helping him, they gave him $7 a fortnight, which they reduced to $5 a fortnight and then they cut it away three months before he suicided,” Mrs Rae told AAP.
“So it just shows how much you need to fight to get… not enough – an insultingly little amount.”
Kat built the piece while watching the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide, to create a visual representation of the challenges faced by many members of the ADF.
“As I was making it, I’d be watching the hearings of the Royal Commission and seeing that actually my story is one among many,” Mrs Rae said.
“And actually, I was in sad but excellent company.”
Both Kat and Andrew made it to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Australian Army after serving for more than 13 years, with Kat going on three deployments.
In 2019, Kat became a full-time artist and had been recognised in the Napier Waller competition three times previously, before having her “Deathmin” work chosen as winner.
“I was thinking; always the bridesmaid, but never the bride,” she said.
“But, I almost hate that it’s a competition to be honest.
“I feel like I’m with comrades here, who are all making art about very important things and important stories.”
Kat’s art is one of 148 submissions to the competition this year, with 29 short-listed and 17 highly commended which have been on display in Parliament House.
Australian War Memorial director Matt Anderson is happy to welcome the piece into the National Collection.
As one of six judges, including the Chief of the Defence Force, Mr Anderson says Kat’s art represents the very inspiration that built the Australian War Memorial.
“When the Governor General opened the War Memorial, he said you should go through our galleries, and when you leave, you should say never again,” he said.
“Kat’s work should have the same effect on people.
“That should remind all of us that our our veterans and their family – we owe a debt of gratitude, which means we must look after them forever.”
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