Aftermath: John McDermott on the background of the exhibition which investigates the lasting effect of conflict

The Aftermath exhibition at Exeter Castle, with works from Raya Hertzig and John McDermott, aims to highlight the issues of those who survive conflict – Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Raya is a concentration camp survivor and John served in the Royal Navy for 27 years. Both work in Exeter.

John McDermott is a seasoned campaigner – at 15 he walked away from his scholarship at Glasgow School of Art to join the Royal Navy, being involved with major international conflicts such as Falklands, Bosnia, Sierra Leone, and the Gulf Wars. During this time he also was a UN military observer in Cambodia.

Raya Hertzig’s early artistic career was cut short by the Second World War, where she spent five years in a concentration camp, where she and her sister surveyed purely by chance. She spent the next 10 years, in Switzerland and Sweden coming to terms with the events.

The two artists have joined for the Aftermath exhibition. Both have different styles, but share a theme of dealing with trauma of conflict. In a series of interviews Exeter-based artist, Volkhardt Muller, talks to John McDermott

Aftermath runs from Friday, June 25 to Sunday, July 4 at Exeter Castle, Devon. Free entry and open daily between 10am and 6pm.