Over one hundred years ago, naval ships were painted in bold coloured abstract shapes and patterns. Areas of dark and light tones were placed next to each other to break up the outline and shape of the ship when viewed from a distance. This disruptive pattern camouflage technique became known as Dazzle.

During an artist residency at HMAS Penguin in Sydney, Sylvia Schwenk and Sydney-based photo-media artist Anne Zahalka work to contemporise this naval history. They want to build a side view of a naval ship almost 120m long on the Middle Head Oval, using the bodies of thousands of people. Civilians and naval military personnel wearing combinations of black and white lying side by side in geometric shapes would create a Dazzle camouflage. Seen in full only from a Navy helicopter, the work would reveal its full scale and drama.

The work was to be realised during the celebrations of the Royal Australian Navy’s 100-year anniversary of sailing into Sydney Harbour. While the Navy supported the concept, it was unable to resource a project of this scale.

A Naval Novella, also made during this residency, accesses the closed culture of the Navy through a side door, anchored by the naval tradition of tattoos and rope.