Semakh Diorama

This diorama depicts the events of 25 September 1918, when the 11th Light Horse Regiment attacked the village of Semakh in Palestine. The scene was created from the official histories and photographs supplied to the artists.
The original background was painted on linoleum that had been adhered to Masonite, and over the years it had become very brittle; when moved it was irretrievably torn. The current background was painted by Alexander McKenzie in 2013.
McKenzie travelled to the site of Semakh to get a sense of the scale of the landscape and the atmosphere. He went to the site at dawn to see the play of light and dark over the water and surrounding hills.