FOR this year’s Remembrance Day, the Australian War Memorial will display a new sculpture commemorating the lives of fallen soldiers.

“Six more” (2011), sculpted by celebrated Australian artist Alexander Seton, consists of six highly realistic folded ceremonial flags carved from Queensland pearl marble, each with a halyard tied around its centre.

“I had created this work to emphasise the sheer number of Australian losses ongoing in the Afghanistan conflict. I don’t think I had realised the full impact of what I had committed to, now I can hardly remove the flag from individual it’s meant to represent” said Alexander Seton.

The six flags represent six soldiers who lost their lives in Afghanistan between May and August last year. Their names are incised on the underside of the sculpture: Brett Wood, Andrew Jones, Marcus Case, Rowan Robinson, Todd Langley and Matthew Lambert.

Ryan Johnston, head of art at the Memorial, says: “Seton has carved the marble to realistically reflect the appearance of a woven flag, while at the same time using the marble’s unique colouring and veins to evoke the human body. It’s not just a work of great sculptural skill, but a complex and meditative memorial to the soldiers.”

The sculpture was acquired in 2011 and this is the first time it has been displayed to the public at the memorial and will be on display in the orientation gallery until January.