Sculpture: (To our) Enduring Freedom
2 years, 4 months ago
This (highly political) sculpture was exhibited in the “Ground Floor” exhibition, Kudos. Two things I’ve wanted to do: engage in the gallery space itself, rather than just place things on a plinth within it, and work with the emotively charged black-white-red nazi style symbolism - I got my wish! 
Painting the walls was extremely liberating.
The installation consists of a stand holding two 100w klaxons, with painted wall banners on either side. The klaxons broadcast the sounds of war (bombs, air-raids, etc), with an underfloor sub-woofer providing deep rumbles.
Here is some (perhaps obvious) explanation:
Using Nazi imagery to point out the hypocracy of a War for Peace, and the fascism that’s been justified to “secure the country”. Dove with olive branch is biblical (i.e. very culturally specific) symbol for peace, and the nature of the War on Terror as a religious war (Bush initially described it as a “Crusade”) is tacit.
…Enduring Freedom is of course the name of US operations in Afghanistan.
Political support badges were also made, with two slogans, both of which involve some semantic/oxymoronic conflict.
There is always the danger of being too clichéd when dealing with political issues in art. I don’t want people to think that the Nazi imagery is in any way flagerant or gratuitous. During the Nuremberg trials Hermann Goering explained the power of the governement over the people through an uncomfortably familiar scenario:
“The people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the peacemakers for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.”
I think it’s important to realise that when such insubstantial rhetoric as an undefinable and unwinnable War on Terror is used to justify incursions into human rights, they are by no means intended to be temporary.