When Henk Eykman has a paintbrush in his hand, he thinks of the hardships of war.
He thinks of the sacrifices the soldiers made, the loss, the stench of rotting flesh, the mateship, and the post traumatic stress disorders that followed.
The Point Cook artist was recently named winner of the figurative art category at the Royal Melbourne Show.
His winning painting, a depiction of armistice at Gallipoli during World War I, shows a Turkish and Anzac soldier reflecting during an agreed armistice burial.
Born in Holland before moving to Australia at the age of three with his parents, Eykman has been interested in painting and war since his childhood.
“My dad was a prisoner of war during the second World War, and told us many stories about what happened,” he said.
“Because of that interest in what my parents told me, I began to look at Aussie soldiers, and did a lot of research, really realising how brave these soldiers were … especially at Gallipoli, it just blew me away what soldiers had to do.”
The inspiration behind this image, he said, was the armistice between the Turks and Anzacs to bury their soldiers.
“It would’ve been horrendous. I think about that particular scene and can only imagine what they went through,” he said.
Eykman said most of his works focus on the Anzacs, and he often donates paintings to RSLs so they can raise awareness about post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
