This image is from Celebrate People’s History/Iraq Veterans Against the War: Ten Years of Fighting for Peace and Justice, a portfolio that celebrated IVAW’s first ten years and was produced by Justseeds, IVAW, Booklyn, Repetitive Press, and the Civilian Soldier Alliance.
(IVAW is now known as About Face: Veterans Against the War)
Jesse Albrecht is a U.S. Army veteran who served in Iraq, artist, Combat Paper facilitator, and educator living and working in Montana. The year Jesse spent in Iraq has played an integral and informative role in his art since his return in 2004.
Against a light brown background there is large white lettering, stating, “Operation Recovery. Who supported Jeff Hanks right to heal? IVAW”. Superimposed over this background, black text and line drawings of skull and crossbones, a rat on a skull with the words, “Rats get fat while brave men die.” A portrait of a young man with hand to face despairingly, microphone to his mouth, and wearing a baseball cap with the words, “IED Dead Girl Mortar.” The name, “SPC Jeff Hanks” at his collar. There are also two crossed AR-15 style rifles. Below, a panther struggles with four arrows piercing its back. Other nightmarish images include a skull clown holding a pipe, and a pile of dog shit replete with flies. Small, handwritten text populates the rest of the image, but it is too small to read.
