What is the role of an artist in conflict? Unlike a journalist, an artist does not merely document the war, nor must they simply uncover the truth, argues David Cotterrell, but can subjectively interpret and mediate the range of emotions at play. Through the eyes of such observers, art therefore has a vital role to play in helping society understand the cost of war. When I found myself stumbling off the back of a Chinook in Sangin, bewildered by the darkness and the dust, the regimental sergeant major looked me up and down along with all the others who had found their way there on the flight that night and said, 'What the hell have they sent us now?'
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