Veteran artist David Tovey to exhibit community co-created art commission marking 25 years since the end of the Armed Forces ‘gay ban’

On 31 May, the Royal Air Force Museum will open a display of installation art co-created by veteran artist David Tovey and communities of LGBT+ veterans and personnel. Commissioned by the Museum last year, on the 25th anniversary of the repeal of the Armed Forces ‘gay ban’, the artwork entitled The Echoes and Shadows of Identity was developed through a year-long series of workshop conversations with veterans affected by the ban and current personnel who now openly serve in more inclusive and equitable times.

The ban began in 1967 following the de-criminalisation of homosexuality and lasted until 12 January 2000 when, after sustained campaigning, it was lifted for violating human rights. Until the ban’s repeal, being gay in the British military was illegal and could result in a jail term or dismissal.

Based on community members’ oral testimonies, the artwork is composed of a large steel structure, a prison cell, which evokes the jail sentences some veterans received. It also symbolises despair, ‘boxed away’ traumas and hidden identities, as veterans recalled masking their sexuality, undergoing interrogations and losing their vocations. Formerly hidden from official histories of the military, in an accompanying soundscape the accounts of LGBT+ veterans and personnel become heard narratives. Their voices pass through the empty cell, transiently inhabiting it and evoking different experiences over time. In their spoken words, anguish and hope intermingle, revealing changing attitudes. This juxtaposition of memory and progress, past and present, is underscored by official letters of dismissal and apology mounted on the cell wall.

David Tovey was directly affected by the ban, having spent six years in the Army, leaving in 1997 when dismissals for being gay accelerated. He lost his vocation and sense of purpose, experiencing years of homelessness, addiction and mental health struggles. Art became a powerful means of self-expression, enabling him to rebuild his life. His work as an activist and producer engages with social justice and marginalised communities.

The artwork goes on display in the Hangar 2 Community Gallery, RAF Museum London, opening as part of the Museum’s Pride in Service Day on Sunday 31 May – a varied programme of events celebrating the contributions of LGBT+ people in the Armed Forces.