THE RECKONING

Kate Stevens

28 February - 16 March 2025, Platform
Exhibition opening 6pm Thursday 27 February 2025

Braidwood-based artist Kate Stevens presents a powerful series of paintings examining the impact of alleged war crimes committed by Australia’s Special Forces during the war in Afghanistan. Through her work, Stevens explores how these events shape Australian cultural identity, questioning the narratives we uphold and the voices we silence.

The exhibition focuses on two key subjects: the whistleblower soldiers who risked everything to speak out and the Afghan sites where civilians were allegedly murdered, as revealed during the recent defamation trial of Victoria Cross recipient Ben Roberts-Smith. By confronting these themes, Stevens challenges Australia’s tendency to mythologise certain figures as heroes while erasing others from the story.

Works in this exhibition created with support from a Capital Arts Patrons' Organisation (CAPO) grant.

Image: Kate Stevens The Whistleblower 2023, oil on canvas, 100 x 150cm, photo by Stephen Best