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Materials & Techniques

Fragment, red gum, 1942
Newcastle Region Art Gallery

‘I was often assigned the job of cutting the firewood for the Camp. Among the gum logs I found two pieces which I was able to save and from which I later carved two sculptures.
Outside the camp compound, I noticed a huge log lying in the field. I asked permission to get the log and was very happy when it was brought in for me. With my axe, (I had no other tools), I carved a sculpture of a mother and child approximately ten feet in height. It became the focal point of the Camp and the children used to dance around it.
Of course, when we were released and went to Melbourne I could not take it with me. I heard later that they were short of firewood and the sculpture had been cut up! As far as I know it is the only work of mine that has ever been vandalised.’
Karl Duldig, [n.d.]

‘Fragment’ is one of the pieces Karl Duldig carved while he and his family were interned at Tatura as enemy aliens.

Which other works in the exhibition were created during the first years of Karl Duldig’s life in Australia? Describe the materials he used in these works and consider what tools he used to make them. Compare them with other works Duldig had created earlier and with those he created in later phases of his life.

What do these sculptures and drawings tell you about life in the internment camp?