Images were carved in a cave wall by Canadian soldiers in France near the scene of the Battle of Vimy Ridge, a key victory in 1917. Courtesy of the Canadian War MuseumCold, tired and aching, the soldier decides to etch his name and battalion number into the chalky wall of a French cave in an effort to leave behind a small part of himself — should he never return from the battle.
A century after such scenes played out in European battlefields — including a cave near Vimy, where one of Canada’s key battles was fought — an exhibit featuring reproductions of soldiers’ artwork has debuted at the Canadian War Museum.
The exhibit, Preserved in Stone – Underground Art of the First World War, opened on Oct. 17 at the LeBreton Flats history centre and will show for two years.
“We have done straight up art displays, but this is the first we’ve ever done with 3D repros,” said Patricia Grimshaw, the exhibition’s project manager.
Exhibits at the museum from 2014 to 2018 are focused on the commemoration of the centenary of the First World War, which was fought from 1914 to 1918.
The reproductions represent the soldiers’ sacrifices, spirit and patriotism through the art they left behind. Visitors to the museum can observe them now for the first time.
The exhibit features three-dimensional art by the Canadian Historical Documentation and Imaging Group (CANADIGM) and photographs by Brett Killington, who took photos of the cave where the soldiers’ art was found.
One picture of a carved maple leaf demonstrates both pride and a national symbol that was found on many Canadian Expeditionary Force cap badges, according to the exhibit’s description.
“It is important that the work has the emotive context to allow the viewer of today to be transported back to the event to really have the experience of what has happened,” Killington said.
Historian Stacey Barker, the lead researcher on the exhibit, calls the cave art an aspect of the war that is unexplored.
“We know about the war on land, the trenches and No Man’s Land, but we know less about what was happening under the battlefields — and there were soldiers down there, leaving little parts of themselves behind that are still there,” Barker said.
Remembrance Day on Nov. 11 offers an opportunity to remember the soldiers whose presence remains through their cave-wall etchings. And this coming April marks the centennial of the Battle of Vimy Ridge, where Canadians fought through constant fire and horrible conditions to secure a crucial victory.
The exhibit was made possible by the Friends of the Canadian War Museum, as well as Michael and Anne Gough, donors to the museum.
Vonlunteer Mike Braham said funds were allocated based on the museum’s priorities and meetings with the Friends.
“This whole wall (of the exhibit) was funded largely by the Friends,” he said. “There’s been a variety of artwork that’s gone behind that. I just think art; it attracts a whole bunch of people… I think people look at the art as war in a somewhat different perspective.”
The art for Preserved in Stone comes from a cave called La Maison Blanche, located near Vimy, that was used to shelter soldiers before battle, said Barker.
The cave is not easily accessible because it is located on private land and is dangerous due to cave-ins, she noted.
Laser scans were done of the carvings, which were then given form using a 3D printer and hand painted by experts to match the patina of the originals.
CANADIGM is a non-profit organization of historians and artists based out of London, Ont. It was granted access to the cave and tunnels thanks to the Durand Group, a British organization focused on underground exploration around battlefields.
CANADIGM currently has a traveling exhibit called Souterraine Impressions (Subterranean Impressions), also featuring 3D printed reproductions of soldiers’ art, which began in April 2015 and has had shows in Montreal and London, Ont.
The new exhibit will be displayed until 2018 in the lobby of the Canadian War Museum, and guests can see the art and photographs of the soldiers’ work without paying admission the museum.
“They’re drawing maybe their loved ones, things they remember from home, they’re writing their names and their hometowns,” Barker said.
“They’re making their mark, saying ‘I was here, I might not come back but this is what I’m leaving behind.”