Vietnam Behind the Lines: Images from the War 1965-1975

Television footage and reportage photography relayed the American-Vietnam war from the remote jungles of Southeast Asia into the sitting rooms of ordinary people living thousands of miles from the battle zones. For the first time in history, a major civilian audience was able to monitor military operations on the other side of the world from the comfort of their armchairs. Tremendous numbers of people lost their lives in the conflict, and the social, economic and political effects of the war will continue to be felt for decades to come.This fully color-illustrated catalogue presents another aspect of the conflict, as seen by Vietnamese artists who created these images of war from behind the lines. Included are 130 works on paper, ranging from sketches on cardbard to paintings on traditional Vietnamese rice paper. Watercolors, pen and ink sketches, pencil drawings, chalk designs, ink paintings and acrylics are all represented in this unique archive, the first to be acquired for a public collection outside Vietnam. Some of the artists were engaged in the creation of propaganda material for the government and others were recording the war, but some were simply exercising their creative talents for the sheer pleasure of it.This catalogue accompanies the exhibition at the British Museum from June 13 to September 22, 2002.