Wounds #3 is a photograph (60 x 45 cm) on archival paper, featuring metallic blades submerged in a plastic container filled with clear liquid. With serrated edges and circular loops at one end, the blades evoke the harsh, unpredictable nature of the Siachen Glacier. The loops resemble bullet marks, reflecting the scars left by decades of conflict. These sharp cutting instruments embody the paradox of survival—tools that inflict injury yet are essential for enduring the hostile frozen terrain. The nearly invisible fluid, resembling blood, seeps into the crevices of these blades, like the unseen wounds of war—silent, persistent, and haunting the combatant’s mind and body. The scattered arrangement of the silvery-grey shards, mirrors the jagged peaks of the Karakoram mountains that form the glacier.

Wounds #3 is part of Baptist Coelho’s ongoing multimedia series, Wounds, which explores the physical and psychological scars of soldiers stationed on the Siachen Glacier, one of the harshest and most isolated places on Earth. It also reflects on how, with care and resilience, soldiers might heal, suggesting that even deep wounds could be overcome, though not without enduring challenges. The series draws inspiration from ‘Wounds’, a body of work by Somnath Hore (1921-2006), an Indian sculptor and printmaker, who depicted the harsh realities of suffering caused by famine, war, and conflict.

Wounds #3 was first exhibited as part of the artist’s solo exhibition, It still hasn’t ended at Bâtiment IV, Esch-sur-Alzette, from 30 May to 14 June 2024. The exhibtion was supported by University of Luxembourg, Department of Social Sciences.