Making Soldiers: In the Trenches c. 1917

Curator: This is Eric Kennington's "Making Soldiers: In the Trenches." Look closely at the claustrophobia of the image. Editor: The harsh chiaroscuro really drives home that sense of enclosure, doesn't it? Curator: Absolutely. The work speaks to the dehumanization inherent in wartime, examining the systematic stripping of individuality and the imposition of a collective, martial identity upon vulnerable individuals. Editor: The figures, particularly the forward soldier, seem trapped by the graphic weight of the marks, as if the trench itself is consuming them. Curator: Precisely. It's as if Kennington is interrogating how institutional violence reshapes identity and belonging. Editor: I appreciate how the materiality mirrors the emotional weight. It is very powerful. Curator: Yes, a haunting portrayal. Editor: Indeed.