Rearview Mirror: As US nuclear submarines move into my hometown, I revisit my dry pastel "Ship of Fools" from 1992

I was reminded with all the stories around the Indo-Pacific and naval activities of some artworks from my 1992 solo exhibition Dualities. I was 24 and they have that graphic style from the era as I was doing graphic design back then before I committed to acrylic paint and canvas. They follow the same theme, starting with dry pastel on paper in very vivid colours (1). All titled the same, Ship of Fools. This first image was actually the last incarnation. I started off with some pen and ink cross hatch drawings (3), the theme then evolved into an etching/aquatint on cotton rag (2). These images so long ago came back to me in reflections for my AUKUS Chronicles and this week when the first US nuclear submarines docked at HMAS Stirling, a naval base near Perth, Western Australia where I’ve been living for the last few years.