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Second World War Memorial

Date made: 1981

Artist: Sandle, Michael

Description: A hypothetical monument by Michael Sandle RA, first shown at Fischer Fine Art. It features the most famous aeroplane of Bomber Command, a Lancaster. The wings of the plane are shown carving through the walls of a bunker, a pile of rubble in their wake; although, since they remain undamaged - partially gripped, but not crushed - the walls might also be interpreted as invisible resistance, like turbulence or a contrary wind, made concrete.

The sculpture is a metaphor of power and havoc. Emblematic of billowing smoke from the stricken plane, overlapping discs are embedded in its fuselage - a device used by Sandle in various contexts to enliven the rectangle, inspired by a membrane to do with his father's loudspeakers but also, he has said, by the bracket fungi which grow horizontally from vertical tree trunks. The courage of the air-crew and the devastation to civilian life are thus incorporated in a single image.

The sculpture is on two levels, one occupied by the aircraft and the other an empty platform, for potential viewing and ceremonial purposes.

As befits their sepulchral form, each of Sandle's proposed war memorials has a platform, or catafalque, approached by a stepped plinth.

Source: John Mcewen's publication "The Sculpture of Michael Sandle" p. 59.

#imuseumsculpture

Measurements: overall: 133 cm x 69.5 cm x 50 cm

Materials: metal: bronze

Object name: bronze sculpture

Collection: Art Collection

ID number: 2021-0046

Subject tags : #artgallerywall

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