KINGSTON, R.I. – September 16 – The overlooked history of 2.5 million Indians who “volunteered” for the British in World War II is not known by many globally. Despite their significant contributions across Europe, Africa, and Asia, these efforts remain largely unrecognized. Professor Annu Matthew, interim chair of the Art and Art History Department, set out to uncover these stories during her Fulbright Fellowship in 2016. 

Through that research she stumbled on the story of the Italians in the remote, mountainous villages of Abruzzo who risked their lives to shelter escaped Indian Prisoners of War during World War II. Despite vast differences in race, language, and culture, these families extended refuge in acts of profound humanity.

Through projected archival photographs of both Italian families and Indian soldiers, Matthew transforms the walls and streets of these villages into living memorials. These visual interventions bridge past and present, reviving stories long forgotten.

The project began when Matthew, on her first Fulbright, was creating work on the children who came to India during the partition in 1947, which was the division of British India into two independent dominion states: the Union of India and the Dominion of East and WestPakistan. Over 15 million people were displaced, and 1 million people died in the span of one month. Through this research, Matthew discovered the 2.5 million Indians who were part of World War II. This led to her second Fulbright, where she gave talks at cultural institutions and universities throughout India, crowdsourcing family photographs and stories of these soldiers. These were then transformed into 3D laser cut crystals as part of her art installation.

Depending on the socioeconomic background of the families she spoke to, images were not always available. Instead, Matthew acknowledged the existence of these men by projecting their scrolling names and towns onto a larger than life silhouette of two soldiers. 

The final installation results in blending photographs, video, sound, 3D-cut crystal sculptures, text, and narrative. Some of the most arresting imagery includes photos and footage of Indian soldiers fighting in the war projected onto Indian graves in Italy. 

Following her Fulbright, “The Unremembered” has since been displayed in a variety of locations around the world, and continues to evolve. In 2018, The Kochi-Muziris Biennale – a major international contemporary art festival held every two years in Kochi, Kerala, India, transforming historic buildings into art spaces and featuring a variety of mediums from Indian and international artists – commissioned Matthew’s work. Then, in September 2021, her work was displayed in the Newport Art Museum alongside her other projects, “Memories of India,””Open Wound – Stories of Partition,” and “An Indian from India.”

Most recently, the installation was showcased at Palazzo Ducale Orsini Colonna di Tagliacozzo. The Palazzo Ducale Orsini-Colonna is a historic building in Tagliacozzo, Italy, renowned for hosting art exhibitions, notably the Contemporanea art event. The location is important because Indian soldiers were held at a prisoner of war camp in Avezzano (the region in which Tagliacozzo sits). In 1943, immediately after Italy’s armistice with the Allies, approximately 50,000 Allied soldiers, including Indians, escaped. Many in Abruzzo sheltered these Indian soldiers, risking their lives despite differences in race, language, and culture.

Remarkably, Matthew was able to connect modern-day families to the ancestors of Indian prisoners of war and the Italian families who helped save them.  In August, the daughter and family of one of these Indian soldiers reconnected over lunch with the Italian family who saved her father. To deepen her interaction with these families, Matthew applied for and accepted a 2024 Beatrice S. Demers Foreign Language Fellowship in Italian.

“I started to learn Italian last year through this immersive program,” says Matthew, “It was really important for me to learn the language so that I could effectively connect with the families.” 

On September 24th, there will be a talk, “SHELTERED: The Italians Who Saved Escaped Indian Prisoners of War during WWII” at URI in Swan Hall (Hoffman) at 12:00 pm. The event will also be streamed online. 

Matthew will also speak at the World Affairs Council of Rhode Island later this fall. 

In October, “The Unremembered” will continue to educate audiences in the United Kingdom at the Lee Miller Gallery at Farleys House and Gallery, where Matthew will speak at an artist’s talk as part of the exhibition New Stories, Women in Photography, India. The Sussex home of Surrealist photographer Lee Miller and artist Roland Penrose spent 35 years building a collection of contemporary art treasures, many of which were created by their friends and visitors, including Pablo Picasso, Man Ray, Max Ernst, Leonora Carrington, and Joan Miro.

“I thought the work was nearly done, but new stories have emerged,” says Matthew, “On my next sabbatical, I would love to follow up on these and deepen the work.” 

She is currently collaborating with a librarian in Abruzzo, Italy who is interested in uplifting the history to create an open-source database that allows families to learn more about their past and academics to continue research.