The practice of painting naval ships with disruptive pattern camouflage known as “Dazzle”,was initially used 100 years ago in the First World War. Ships were painted in bold coloured abstract shapes and patterns, with areas of dark and light tones placed next to each other to break up the outline and shape of the ship when viewed from a distance.
During an artist residency at the Naval base, HMAS Penguin in Sydney, Schwenk and Zahalka proposed to contemporise this naval history of camouflaging by creating a work of art made from human bodies. A study was done to present a side view of a naval ship covered in “Dazzle” camouflage on Middle Head Oval with military personnel and civilians lying down side by side.
This socially engaged work of performance art was to have been filmed and photographed from a Navy helicopter Unfortunately the Australian Defence Forces did not have the resources to commit to the project.