Soldier of LIberty

Soldier of Liberty by Josie McCall

This installation involved researching images to combine in the creation of a three dimensional piece which, when lit from two points at a 90 degree angle to each other, would throw shadows of the different individual images.

The two iconic images chosen were the Statue of Liberty and an American GI on patrol, rifle in hand. This was to express the contrasting perceptions of the United States of America, at home and abroad, as protector and aggressor.

The two images were reduced to silhouettes of proportions which would fit within the same outline and cardboard cutouts were made to form templates for the copper wire architrave for the 18 inch high maquette. The two copper wire forms were then fixed at 90 degree angles to each other and covered with clay.

The installation was designed as an eight feet high copper sculpture within a walled area lit from two sides at ninety degrees to each other and with apertures for the work to be seen from outside the walled area. This would prevent shadows from those viewing the work to disrupt the images.

The three dimensional form of the maquette did not present a recognisable image in itself, which was not necessary, as the shadows thrown by it were the actual work, not the maquette itself.

In ‘Soldier of Liberty’ I have endeavoured to connect two opposite meanings simultaneously to one piece, using shadows to present the two familiar and iconographic silhouettes of the ‘Statue of Liberty’ and an American soldier. The expectations of the viewer are that an object would throw a unique and recognisable shadow. The object in this piece throws two distinct and recognisable shadows, and can be viewed as two distinct and recognisable silhouettes depending on the physical standpoint of the viewer, thereby raising the question of the true nature of the icons presented.