The War Experience Project is the brainchild (and heart child) of artist and Iraq War veteran Rick Lawson.
Lawson says that after returning home from combat duty in Balad, Iraq in 2004-2005 he had a hard time answering questions from friends about what the experience had been like. He took a humanities course at Western Washington University in which they studied the 11th century Bayeux Tapesty, which portrayed the Battle of Hastings. That study was the inspiration for this project. As quoted on the Spaceworks Tacoma website, Lawson says he dug his uniform from "the deepest, darkest part of my closet so I wouldn't have to access it." He painted his memories of war on the back of his uniform, and - finding the experience to be cathartic - he enlisted other war veterans to paint their memories.
For Alec Clayton's full feature on WEP, click here.
War Experience Project
April 15-17, 3-8 p.m.
or by appt. through April
Spaceworks Tacoma, 906 Broadway
Read Comments