Public Servants
16 in / 41 cm
This sculpture represents the confusion brought about by abusive bureaucracy. Four figures are frozen in poses of reflection, perplexity, doubt and frustration: head in both hands; head on knees in prostrated reflection; head resting on fists, pouting; hands on the lower back, sick and tired of it all; hands to the sky in silent complaint; hands clinging to someone desperately enough to drown them.
There is such confusion that instead of holding their own heads, the figures are holding someone else’s. The four individuals are linked together, commingled, choking each other, agglutinating, and on only seven legs. One is complaining with his hand on another’s back; a second figure is thinking, his head resting on his fist and a knee borrowed from the figure whose head is being held in the hands of the other two. One cowardly figure anxiously hangs on to the top figure, who is complaining about all the constraints they themselves have painstakingly constructed. Each man is wearing a tie, symbol of men in grey suits. The ties are nickel plated: silver coloured, but worthless. A right hand is at times replaced by a left one and vice versa. A complete tangle!
Anecdote
“A government which governs least governs best” – Jefferson
Folly, particularly that of public servants is the hardest thing for me to bear. Humans have the unfortunate tendency to want to control everything, and in so doing, they often level it down. By definition, death is a risk of life. Each worry leads to the imposition of some form of protection, law or rule that muzzles life. I believe we need to help make human beings more respectful, more mature, more moral and aware of the consequences of their actions, while still allowing them to act of their own free will. Knowledge brings responsibility.
Treatment
Bronze (16in/41cm) with black patina on a granite base. Nickel-plated ties. The plating on the artist’s proofs is silver.
A series of eight and four artist’s proofs.
