Shattered Soldier is the creation of Vietnamese-American artist and Iowa college student, John Paul Hornbeck, himself a veteran and a PTSD sufferer. It's making its way cross-country right now to an exhibit in Providence, Rhode Island in the beginning of March, at the Pawtucket Armory. The show called, "Experiencing the War in Iraq," will run from March 5 to 30th, and it is described as "an artist-curated multi-media exhibition that brings together diverse expressions of the war in Iraq." Click here to learn more about the exhibit.
Says Hornbeck, "I made this sculpture to address the issues coming back from the Iraq War: increased rates of PTSD, mental illness, soldiers'/veterans' suicides, TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury,) blindness, among other things. This sculpture was created as a memorial for the living, for those who died over there or who returned as ghosts of the war -- forever haunted with guilt and remorse for witness to unspeakable things, and committing some themselves. My father had suffered PTSD from his time in the Vietnam War. Growing up, I witnessed his episodes and even went to the VA with him on several accounts trying to get him help. I've known three soldiers who didn't receive the treatment they should've and committed suicide. This sculpture deals with these intense veterans' issues that sometimes make people cringe with discomfort, but it is the only way I see fit to express such difficult topics that are otherwise hard to discuss. I created this sculpture out of elements of war, to show how the soldier becomes the war -- and how, even when he returns, war is something not easily forgotten.
To see more images of "Shattered Soldier," or If you are able to donate to Mr. Hornbeck to help defray his considerable expenses in building and shipping this sculpture for exhibition, please follow this link to his website. Thank you.
