Live Model Concept

1940's Wartime

The brief for our live model in the exhibition was to chose an era and create a concept inspired by this time period. Straight away the idea of wartime Britain popped into my head.

TV & Film being the genre of work I want to go into, I felt that creating a British wartime scene within my piece would be a great way to showcase my skills as an employable TV make-up artist. I've always had a love for modern British history, and took a keen interest in World War 2 stories, with my grandad being a soldier in the war he had millions of stories to tell about his days in the army. So as this is something I'm passionate about, it makes it really exciting for me to research and play around with ideas for. (Above image reference 1)

(Image Left, reference 2 & 3).
After the outbreak of war in 1939, Britain had to significantly increase its' army size in order to fight the larger armies they were against. In the October the British Government declared that all men between the ages of 18 and 41 who were not needed professions (such as doctors, farmers, scientists) would by law have to enlist in the army and be called up when required (reference 4). This meant that a huge proportion of the men during this era were soldiers, and so the basis of my era inspired piece. The war was such a huge part of not only the 1940's but of modern history - and so creating a look which depicts the soldiers and the war would be a smart decision for me.

War Injuries

I began to look at war injuries as the basis of my concept. I wanted to portray something different and with a gruesome twist; but also historically and medically accurate. As World War 1 and 2 were fought using similar weapons and in similar ways I also extended my research to WW1 injuries as a point of inspiration. (Warning I have included some images of injuries which may be a bit squeamish!)

• Mustard gas:

Mustard Gas is a chemical agent widely used in World War 1, and was refined for use in World War 2 to create worsened effects. When a soldier came into contact with mustard gas through artillery shells, the skin broke out into severe blisters and burns - which can cause long term dis-figuration, blindness and scarring (reference 5).

The image on the right is of a soldier who had experienced a severe mustard gas attack, and the scarring it left him with (reference 6).

• Trench Fever: 

Trench Fever was a condition caused by bad conditions in the trenches. Small lice would carry illness which would spread between soldiers and cause flu like symptoms, with blisters and sores all over the soldiers' bodies (reference 7).

• Gunshot Wounds

Gunshot wounds were the most common wound you would find on a battlefield. The invention of the machine gun in World War 1 meant that a soldier could experience a number of bullet wounds in rapid progression (Reference 8). This was usually used by the opposition when British soldiers would go 'over the top' of their trenches in order to conquer land and get closer to the German trenches for attack. Many soldiers needed limbs amputated as a result of gunshot wounds dependent on the severity. (Image right, reference 9)

• Artillery Shell Wounds

An artillery shell is a projectile/small missile which contains explosives, as opposed to a shot. These were widely used in World War 2, and according to an online source were the most common cause for the loss of an arm or leg (reference 10). Artillery shells come in many forms, but the most common is a shrapnel shell. When fired from a rifle, it is a single large bullet which opens to reveal many bullets inside it. This meant it would create a huge wound on the soldier - enough to take off a limb or fatally injure. The image on the left (reference 11) shows some of the larger artillery shells which were dropped by fighter plane onto German territory.

References:

1.         Keys, V. (2015). What was British life like in 1939?. [online] Telegraph.co.uk. Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sponsored/lifestyle/family-history/11955017/wartime-britain.html [Accessed 20 Feb. 2017].
2.        Beevor, A. (2014). WW2: Britain's leading war historian tackles the greatest myths. [online] Mail Online. Available at: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/event/article-2656189/WW2-The-British-Tommy-fight-frequent-cuppa-breaks-SS-sadistic-fanatics-True-false-Britains-leading-war-historian-tackles-greatest-myths-WW2.html [Accessed 21 Feb. 2017].
3.        World War 2 | Second World War | British History. (n.d.). [online] British-history.co.uk. Available at: http://www.british-history.co.uk/ww2-index.html [Accessed 21 Feb. 2017].
4.        Tillman, B. (2014). World War Two - Conscription - History on the Net. [online] History on the Net. Available at: http://www.historyonthenet.com/world-war-two-conscription/ [Accessed 21 Feb. 2017].
5.        Palermo, E. (2013). What Is Mustard Gas? | Sulfur Mustard. [online] Live Science. Available at: http://www.livescience.com/39248-what-is-mustard-gas.html [Accessed 21 Feb. 2017].
6.       Carlton Ware World: Tribute to WW1 - Part 1 - The Military. (2014). [online] Carltonwareworld.com. Available at: http://www.carltonwareworld.com/ww1_part_1.htm [Accessed 21 Feb. 2017].
7.        BBC Schools. (n.d.). Illness and Medicine. Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/0/ww1/25403864 (Accessed: 21 February 2017).
8.       Anderson, J. (2014) Wounding in world war One. Available at: https://www.bl.uk/world-war-one/articles/wounding-in-world-war-one (Accessed: 21 February 2017).
9.       Men of the Wehrmacht: German soldiers: Color images (no date) Available at: https://incredibleimages4u.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/men-of-wehrmacht-german-soldiers-color.html (Accessed: 22 February 2017).
10.   Loss of limb (2016) Available at: https://medicsinww1.wordpress.com/loss-of-limb-2/ (Accessed: 22 February 2017).
11.   Ritchie, A. (2014) Easter eggs for Hitler, 1945. Available at: http://rarehistoricalphotos.com/easter-eggs-hitler-1945/ (Accessed: 22 February 2017).