Richard Rudnicki is working hard to complete a mural which commemorates the 75th anniversary of the Second World War.
The mural, which stands 12-by-18 feet, is located within the walls of the Army Museum at Halifax Citadel and features nine iconic images of Canadian soldiers.
“Each of these events represent Canadian involvement in the war and also are events that the Canadians preformed either extraordinarily well or had terrible losses, but they’re very iconic of each of the major events or types of things the Canadians were involved in,” said Rudnicki.
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Over the last few years, the Army Museum says they’ve been trying to introduce more art into the institution.
“The main reason why we wanted to do particular mural is to commemorate the service and sacrifice of Canada’s soldiers during the Second World War. The 75th anniversary of which we’re approaching, for example D-Day,” said Ken Hynes, Chief Curator of the Army Museum Halifax Citadel.
“We wanted to produce something striking, large and magnificent that would do justice for the service and sacrifice of our young men and women,” said Hynes.
It’s hoped the piece will serve as an opportunity for people to think and reflect on the service and sacrifices that give us the freedoms we have today in Canada.
“It’s very difficult for us today, 75 years after the fact, to understand how dangerous, how difficult and how committed those soldiers were to their mission on that day and without that work, without that commitment, we would have very, very different lives today,” said Hynes.
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Rudnicki is putting a tremendous amount of detail into the piece.
“I’m very interested in the human element, the human juxtaposition of equipment in these stories. The emotional quality is brought out by people in the pictures. It’s hard to get emotional about a tank unless you’ve actually been on one or been engaged with one but I relate to the people,” said Rudnicki.
“I try to get into the people’s shoes. What were they thinking, what were they going through and these young men in this war were going through a tremendous amount of stress and horror and involvement. It wasn’t an adventure, the kind of adventure they were thinking about.”
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The mural is still a work-in-progress and is expected to be complete sometime this summer. Once it is finished, it’s expected to be one of the largest war-related murals in the province.
“I think it’s going to be a real magnificent piece of work that people can come and see and perhaps take something away from their reflection on what they see in the art work,” said Hynes.
The museum officially opens to the public for the 2018 season on Monday, May 7.
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