Commissioned by the National Memorial Arboretum, United for Victory is a collaborative project commemorating the 75th Anniversary of “Victory in Europe” Day by Alex Dedes, Louise Gooden, Erica Tung, Sara Kenward and Ruby Cheng. 

 

"To commemorate the 75th Anniversary of “Victory in Europe” Day, we aim to share the everyday experiences and sacrifices of ordinary people in support of the WWII effort. As generations continue to grow older and time passes further away from WWII, we must consider how we remember the war and whose stories are being told. Specifically, we understand the importance of sharing everyday stories of civilians that lived through the war and VE Day. These ordinary stories of survival demonstrate extraordinary strength and resilience.

 

Mugs as functional everyday objects can provide a sense of routine and comfort. We were inspired by the act of tea drinking and conversation; therefore, instead of presenting our final work in an exhibition space, we proposed to place our mugs in the Arboretum’s restaurant space to facilitate an intimate interaction between the visitor and the mug."