HMAS Kanimbla alongside Port Rashid, Dubai

Peter Churcher recalled, "Before I had even got on the ship I was looking forward to doing some nocturnal images of the ship assuming that the lights of the ship would be fully lit. Only to find that when I arrived on the ship it was blackened at night; you couldn't see your hand in front of you. The windows were covered up. Given my disappointment at not being able to make nocturnal images, I waited till the ship came into the port at Dubai and worked on this nocturne scene on board the deck of the "Kanimbla".

In February 2002 the Australian War Memorial, continuing a tradition extending back to the First World War, appointed Peter Churcher as an official war artist for the war against terrorism. Sent to the Persian Gulf and Diego Garcia, he recorded the people and operations of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF).

Churcher's works capture the day-to-day experiences of today's defence force personnel, while harking back to older art traditions and styles. His images provide a valuable insight into the nature of modern warfare.