Illuminating Battle Jackets; a Fine Art Research Project

This presentation focuses on a five-year research project into battle jackets, resulting in a series of paintings and photographs.

Battle jackets or vests are cut off denim jackets embellished by fans with patches featuring band logos and artwork. Each jacket is unique, and almost always created by the wearer themselves as a way of displaying their identity as a metal fan. This practice of customisation began in the late 1970s and has become a significant aspect of metal heritage and a way for fans to actively shape the visual aspects of the subculture. Rare and vintage patches are prized by metalheads as connections to the authenticity of metal history.

The battle jacket research project began as my PhD in 2012 and culminated with an exhibition of paintings at Wimbledon College of Arts in 2017 as well as a thesis publication. I interviewed fans and photographed their jackets, making a series of detailed watercolour paintings that documented them. The exhibition attracted audiences from the fine art and metal spheres, and featured in Metal Hammer and Kerrang! The PhD also considered the place of battle jackets within wider cultures of art history and historic folk customisation.

This presentation featured the artworks and photos created for the project and discuss the rationale for using fine art painting practice as a way of studying battle jackets.

In a post-subcultural time, it can be argued that consumption is a central aspect of fandom. However, the persistence of battle jacket making shows how individuals continue to use DIY processes to construct their own culture.