Today marks the 100th anniversary of Britain’s entry into World War 1, and commemorative events are taking place across the country. None are more beautiful than Nele Azevedo’s “Minimum Monument”, however.
The Brazilian sculptor had 5000 ice figurines placed on the steps of Birmingham’s Chamberlain Square this weekend, with the slowly melting sculptures representing those that lost their lives during the Great War. It took two weeks to make the ghostly figures, housed in 18 specially outfitted freezers.
“I wanted to break with the traditional characteristics of a monument,” Azevedo told the Birmingham Mail. “My sculptures remember people who are not remembered by other monuments.”
Azevedo’s installation has previously featured in Belfast, Berlin, Sao Paulo, Amsterdam and Paris, but the 5000 figures in the Birmingham showcase make it the artist’s largest Minimum Monument installation to date. [Neleazevedo.com.br,Birmingham Mail]
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