Visiting Iraq Steve visited Iraq in 2003 with the intention of making a film but "because of the situation with the MoD", as he puts it, "I couldn鈥檛 go anywhere. I never left the camp and I had no idea of what was happening outside the barracks." Frustrated by his journey and not having the option to return to the country, the artist realised he had to come up with a different way of recording his experience.
 | | Steve McQueen (pic: Thierry A. Bal) |
"When I got back to London, I didn鈥檛 really have anything of any interest in my camera. I wanted to go back but I couldn鈥檛 because hostages were being taken. It was then that I thought about my experience there. "The one thing that struck me was the camaraderie of the troops. Somewhere along the way, I had this idea of stamps and it has grown from there." Stamp of approval A series of postage stamps have been produced, each with a photographic portrait of the soldier and the standard profile of Her Majesty the Queen, in whose name they went to fight. Steve hopes an official set of the stamps will be produced as a reminder of the country鈥檚 involvement in war, but the idea hasn't sat too comfortably with the powers-that-be.
 | | Lance Corporal Benjamin Hyde (detail) |
"We have an MP, Paul Flynn, who has taken up the campaign to get the stamps made. Hopefully, there will be a debate about this in Parliament. "Paul believes that this idea should be realised for the relatives and the next of kin of the deceased soldiers. "This is what we want to achieve but at the moment, we face some resistance from the MoD and Royal Mail." Family unit Queen and Country is not just Steve's project. It is being produced in collaboration with the families of the soldiers. They each chose the photograph of their lost child, spouse or partner that has been reproduced on the stamp. | "I am hoping that by allowing people to identify with British soldiers who have died, they will also think about the people in Iraq." | | Steve McQueen |
At the start of the project, 115 families were asked to participate and 98 agreed. Of course, since the start of the project, more servicemen and women have been killed and families of these soldiers will be given the chance to take part. Interestingly, for all the emotion, Steve has found that the families who have been involved have been very positive about the art. "The opening at Manchester Library was quite emotional. There was about 225 people there; husbands, wives, lovers, cousins, children, grandparents and nieces. "It wasn鈥檛 simply a place to be sad, it was a place to be in a supportive environment. People came together to sit and chat and to look at the stamps of the soldiers." Honouring the dead The main aim of the project is, as Steve puts it, "to honour the dead", but there is a secondary and equally important message he hopes the art carries; that of remembering the Iraqi people injured or killed in the war. "I hope that the exhibition lets people reflect on the casualties of war. Over 650,000 or more Iraqi men, women and children have also died in this conflict and I am hoping that by allowing people to identify with British soldiers who have died, they will also think about the people in Iraq." Queen and Country by Steve McQueen, is a co-commission between Manchester International Festival and Imperial War Museum and is at Manchester Central Library until Sat 14 July. Original image of Lance Corporal Benjamin Hyde is reproduced with the kind permission of the family. | 
