A permanent memorial to Brian Haw, the political activist who inspired Mark Wallinger’s award-winning Turner work state britain (2007) – to be installed in South London, according to The Guardian. The 75cm tall statue, created by artist Amanda Ward, will sit in an alcove in the School of Historical Dress at 52 Lambeth Road, opposite the Imperial War Museum.
The longtime protester camped outside the Houses of Parliament from 2001 to 2011, when he died; Ward’s piece shows a beleaguered Haw leaning on his crutches. “Inspired initially by the war in Iraq and British and American foreign policy, his campaign for peace has become an essential accompaniment for MPs on their way to and from their workplaces,” reads a press release. a crowdfunder, who have so far raised more than £25,000 of the £50,000 target. The money will go towards “construction work” as well as “maintenance, insurance and ongoing costs in future years,” an update said.
Ward helps lead the campaign for a statue, alongside figures such as musician Brian Eno. “I did [the Haw piece] as a model with the idea of making a larger version; I took four pictures of him, one on each side,” she said. The Arts Journal. “I decided to make a statue a year before he died when he was exhausted from sleeping on the sidewalk for ten years…[from] pollution and police harassment, but still resolute in his protest. I had known and supported Brian [Haw] for ten years, which contributed to my portrayal of him.
Wallinger decided to document Haw’s individual protest against the war in Iraq, creating the state britain installed in 2007 in response to the Organized Crime and Policing Act 2005 (SOCPA).
The artist explained his reasons for doing the installation in a 2007 report, saying: “I was impressed and moved by what he said and by what is a powerful document on US and UK policy in Iraq. I was surprised by the wide variety of material Haw had assembled.
