This collection focuses on the limited documentation of the subculture of metal music through an emblem of community identity, the battle jacket.  The origin of which begins with WWII veterans adorning their jackets with patches commemorating their experiences in specific roles, victories, etc.^[1] These jackets became adopted by rebellious groups such as punks and biker scenes in turn becoming an alternative identifier. Metal as a genre emerged in the late 60s and early 70s with adoption of the customized jackets by the late 70s.^[2]

Peter Beste is a New York based photographer who has released two books showcasing metal culture with the latest project focusing on battle jackets. The project began as a still life documentation of the jackets themselves before developing into an archive of the metal scene and the creators of the jackets.^[3]

Tom Cardwell is a London based artist transforming battle jackets into artworks through oil and watercolor. Cardwell also has published his thesis “Battle Jackets, authenticity, and ‘material identity’” as well as a book “Heavy Metal Armour: A Visual Study of Battle Jackets”. Cardwell has exhibited in multiple individual and group shows in London, Helsinki, and Los Angeles.^[4] 

The significance of both these artists' work is further displayed in Lauren O’Hagan paper, “My Musical Armor”: Exploring Metalhead Identity through the Battle Jacket” and “The anatomy of a battle jacket: a multimodal ethnographic perspective”.^[5] Both journal articles build on Cardwell’s work and brings light to the urgency to capture the history of thsi subculture.