Great art needs few words to accompany it. And so it is with Ben Quilty’s After Afghanistan exhibition at Flinders University’s City Gallery.

With big, bold layers of paint applied with a palette knife, the Archibald Prize winner and 2011 official war artist sends a profound message to the parents and loved ones of veterans, serving soldiers, government policy makers, and to all who have tried to make sense of war and the impact it has on people’s lives.

The exhibition, curated by Laura Webster from the Australian War Memorial, runs until November 30 at Flinders Art Museum and City Gallery, located within the State Library.