1999 – Present
This series was based on my thinking about how the army dance troupes, “Entertainment Soldiers” (文艺兵 Wenyibing or 文工团 Wengongtuan) portrayed us soldiers through their performances with strong proud upright stances; ballet influenced beautiful graceful leaps and pirouettes while wearing sensual figure hugging blouses and tight shorts.
This obviously had no relation to my military experiences.
I compared them to the fighting positions we soldiers learnt in army boot camp, which were actually crouching, bent low, and hunched over. Juxtaposed with these Entertainment Soldiers, there was nothing graceful, poised, proud or beautiful about us. We were more like uncivilised hooligans, ruffians skulking about low to the ground and generally behaving badly. I removed our uniforms for the same reason. Compared to these elegant beautiful performers, we were just ruffians and hooligans, clowning around without dignity.
Trigger Happy IX, 1999, oil on canvas, 180 x 200cm, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
Trigger Happy II, 1999, oil on canvas, 146 x 198cm, Collection of Global Resources, Los Angeles, USA
Trigger Happy, 2000, oil on canvas, 146 x 198cm
Trigger Happy VIII, 2000, oil on canvas, 146 x 198cm
Trigger Happy, 2000, oil on canvas, 146 x 198cm
Trigger Happy XI, 2000, oil on canvas, 136 x 119cm, Melbourne, Australia