Queen and Country at National Portrait Gallery

Commemorating the British service personnel that have been killed in the Iraq war, the images in Queen and Country at National Portrait Gallery take the form of postage stamps, upon which are the potraits of the men and women who have lost their lives so far. Alongside their portrait is the profile of the Queen, in whose name they went to fight.

Queen and Country at National Portrait Gallery
Emotionally charged and ultimately questioning the need and the political basis for the war, the exhibition was commissioned in part by the Imperial War Museum as a response to the Iraq war. The stamps are so far only images for the art exhibition, but the artist hopes to have the portraits on show in Queen and Country at National Portrait Gallery reproduced as actual stamps, thereby creating a tribute on a national level and bringing the victims into our everyday lives.

Official UK war artist
Artist and former Turner Prize winner, Steve McQueen spent six days in Iraq back in 2003 where he got the inspiration for the exhibition. Having been inspired by the camaraderie of the men and women working in the military there, the idea of the postage stamps was concieved. Despite the travelling exhibition having been in the public eye for a few years now, there is still no official move to make real Royal Mail versions of the stamps for public use, and consequently, McQueen feels that his project will remain unfinished until they are.

Personal tributes
The exhibition is a collaboration with the families of the deceased, who have all personally chosen the image of their child, spouse or partner that is used on the stamp and is dedicated to all victims of the Iraq war. Opening on the seventh anniversary of the British soldiers entering Iraq, Queen and Country at National Portrait Gallery will close on the first anniversary of the withdrawal of the troops.

Final tour of duty
The Queen and Country exhibition has been on tour around Britain since November 2007 when it was initially presented at the Imperial War Museum. Locations that have housed the exhibition include Whitehall, University of Exeter, Wolverhampton Art Gallery, the National Galleries of Scotland and the Barbican. Having travelled the country and been on show at various prestigious museums, galleries and venues, Queen and Country at National Portrait Gallery sees the exhibition come to its final stop.

Queen and Country at National Portrait Gallery by Steve McQueen is on show from Saturday 20th March - Saunday 18th July 2010. Entrance is free.

For more information on the Queen and Country portraits and how you can help turn the exhibition into a real set of postage stamps, click on the link below.

Queen and Country Official Site

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