14-18

Bronze World War 1 Sculpture

Unique

2.4m long

This emotional sculpture depicts a moment in time at the beginning of World War 1. A battery of 13 pounder guns towed by a battle-weary Royal Horse Artillery make their way along the western front in Belgium or France when the convoy is attacked by a shrapnel round, bringing down two horses.  The sculpture is permanently attached to the table: the figurines depict people and animals that are a living and dying part of their landscape, some of whom will return to it for sure. Whether any will escape it is not known. The qualities that remain constant about human beings are our drive to build and to craft, and our tendency to destroy ourselves. In this piece I am attempting to articulate both of these qualities. At the same time, the horses (each one unique) measure just 4 inches tall and are set out on a table top in a manner that resembles a diorama of toy soldiers arranged by a child. The thin burnt table is intended to evoke a fragile domesticity where children play with toy soldiers in their first encounter with a repeating violent political reality - one that persists today.