‘The Art of Command:’ Canada’s Afghan mission leaders subject of new exhibit

She said it’s unusual to sit for portraits in this digital age, but Kearns persuaded her subjects to come to her Toronto studio while she painted. She also took notes about their time in Afghanistan — what they took away from the experience, their impressions of successes and failures and the general situation while they were there.

“This is my exploration into the inner struggles of those at the Afghan operation’s highest levels,” Kearns said in a release.

“I wanted the portraits to convey their internal workings, calculating, planning, under pressure, alone. The works are not about projecting leadership, per se. They are about being commanders.”

The paintings were done between 2006 and 2015.

Kearns created posters by overlaying paintings with text from her conversations to give some insight into each individual.

A movie-style poster of Gen. Jonathan Vance, currently chief of defence staff for the Canadian Forces, is headlined “Concept and War” with a note at the bottom that reads: “No time for Hollywood Moments.”

A poster of retired lieutenant-general Andrew Leslie, now a Liberal MP, is entitled “Science of War” and “The War for Our Generation.”

Sharman’s favourite is of former lieutenant-colonel Omer Lavoie, who was a battle group commander. Lavoie was promoted to major general in January.

“For My Soldiers” reads the poster and underneath it says: “Rest in Peace.” At the bottom are the names of the 18 soldiers who died during his command.

“He was very adamant that this is what he wanted to convey … those fellow soldiers who were lost on his command,” said Sharman.

During the Afghan mission, 158 Canadian soldiers and one diplomat died.

There is only one civilian in the ‘who’s who’ of the Canadian Forces. Chris Alexander was Canada’s first resident ambassador to Afghanistan from 2003 to 2005. He later ran for office and would become minister of citizenship and immigration in Stephen Harper’s Conservative government.

Sharman said the exhibit doesn’t focus as much on the Afghan battles as it does on the individuals making the decisions.

“What she is really wanting to look at is … the repercussions and the consequences of those people who are not only on the front lines but are also calling the shots … making those choices and all of those really hard decisions.”

The exhibition runs until October 30.

— Follow @BillGraveland on Twitter

Bill Graveland, The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

‘The Art of Command:’ Canada’s Afghan mission leaders subject of new exhibit

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