EMPIRE, 2020

EMPIRE
40 x 19.5 x 30 cm
Bronze Sculpture
Edition of 16

EMPIRE
A powerful animal subjugated by humankind.
Inescapably majestic and elegant, powerfully muscular in form, with an innate nobility.
This beast bears the weight of our projected nationalism and patriotism,
upholding statues of oppressive statesmen and war “heroes”.
Historically, these were the creatures men took to war,
to fight and die alongside them with unrelenting loyalty.
Yet dignified with it’s own sense of agency, independent from human quests.

Within this discrepancy between their physical power and their subservience,
they become archetypal symbols for notions of human power struggles,
the horror of war, nationalism and blind loyalty to leadership.