ABSTRACT
The types of object under discussion in the case study presented here belong to the wider phenomenon of ‘trench art’, as defined by Saunders (2003) as ‘any item made by soldiers or civilians, from war materiel directly, or any other material, as long as it and they are associated temporally and/or spatially with armed conflict or its consequences’ (11). Most trench art is, by definition, ‘recyclia’, that is, a reworking of matter and material worlds to make something new (ibid.: 184). This chapter looks at how the wrapping paper, cardboard, string, food tins and strips of cellophane packing material from Red Cross food parcels were recycled to make a range of objects which can be viewed not only as the reified articulations of spoken and unspoken emotions (Carr 2011) but also the unvoiced complaints, critiques and counter-narratives of the conditions of internment. Rather than invite trouble by confronting the camp guards or openly proclaiming their loyalties and patriotic stances, civilian internees 1 were enabled, thanks to the Red Cross, to voice their protest in non-confrontational, creative ways.
