Who is in control in the Freedman painting - the turret captain, sited way above the deck, the duty officer passively looking on, the operator or the machines? The advent of new weaponry, aimed at a distant or even invisible enemy, affects the ordering of the military machine. This painting by Sir Charles Holmes takes the question even further. Holmes was part of this Anti Aircraft gun crew at the Royal residence at Sandringham. The King, the highest authority in the country, is being protected but it is only the gun that has the power to respond to the threat of Zeppelins, approaching under the cover of night. Are the crew and the artist standing to attention for the gun or the approaching officer? Is this an image about a confident defence of the King, or a demonstration of how far technology had started to control and govern society?
Published: 2005-04-04
