Artist Statement

No man’s land is intended as a meditation on war and conflict. The theme comes from the anniversary of the commencement of the First World War and each of the 101 cylinders represents a year up to 2014. As objects they could be seen as artillery shells stacked behind the lines, or the rigid anonymity of fallen soldiers and civilians. They are also intended to symbolise the repetitive industrial process of slaughter in the Great War and the many conflicts that have occurred since. Violence terminates lives prematurely and scars, traumatises and dehumanises those that suffer as a consequence. A sculpture carries no answers, no resolutions and acts merely as a visual statement. Over time this work will take on the colours and textures of its surroundings as it is absorbed by nature just as the remnants of numerous wars are taken back by the land.