An artist who created a sculpture described as “disturbing” and “shocking” said he was “surprised” by the response but said his sculpture could spark difficult conversations.
Jason deCaires Taylor told Sky News: “I don’t try to divide or upset people with my artwork. But I try to talk about issues that are relevant and relevant to our day.”
The 50-year-old artist has a history of producing political works, but says this piece has “no political purpose” and is based on the painting that inspired him. Shakespeare‘s tragic heroine, Ophelia.
Made from recycled glass and steel and featuring LEDs that light up at night, Alluvia was installed on the River Stour in Taylor’s hometown of Canterbury. City about a week ago.
However, comments on Canterbury City Council’s official Facebook page have accused the study of being “insensitive” and “offensive”.
One person wrote: “I can’t be the only one who finds this extremely offensive. It looks like a woman drowning. How could the council not see the connection with women being victims of crime or the fact that so many people drown off the Kent coast as refugees?”
Another said: “I find this statue absolutely appalling. Not only is it offensive, it is downright disturbing. The depiction of a figure underwater reminiscent of a drowning victim is both sickening and completely insensitive given the tragic drownings that occur on our coastlines. What were the council thinking?”
Others defended the work, with one commenting: “This seems to ‘disturb’, ‘offend’ and ‘shock’ more people than the actual images of drownings that occur on our shores every day. Why not put some of that energy into something constructive rather than wasting it on a piece of art designed to stir up hatred?”
Another wrote: “This is a beautiful piece of art and not as disturbing as the previous statues it replaced. How do we live in a world where anything that offends or ‘triggers’ someone has to be removed??”
The statue was built to replace two similar female statues by Taylor that had been in the water since 2008 but were damaged by dredging.
‘If it fosters care and affection, that’s good’
Taylor told Sky News: “I was surprised… 99.9% of the feedback I got was very positive… But I also know that everyone gets something different out of everything they see.”
While he says there is “no connection” between this work and the migrant crisis on the city’s coast, he hopes it will create empathy for what is happening on the Channel.
“This is an extremely tragic situation and I don’t think ignoring it is the solution,” he said. [this work] “If you can have any interest or sympathy for this situation, then I think that’s a good thing.”
More than 21,000 people reached the UK on small boats between January and September, according to government figures. At least 45 people have died in Channel crossings this year.
Taylor also said that the reason the subject of the work is a young woman is because it was inspired by the famous painting by Sir John Everett Millais, which is on display at Tate Britain.
‘Art without question is meaningless’
Some of Taylor’s past sculptures have addressed issues such as the climate crisis, Brexit and the plight of those risking their lives on the dangerous migration route from West Africa to Spain.
“Art should ask questions,” Taylor says. “It should make people think about things that will trigger their emotions, and that’s really important.
“If you ignored everything and tried to please everyone with all your art, I think you would come up with something very harmless and, frankly, quite pointless.”
He also thinks that one of the reasons for the negative feedback could be our age of information overload.
“We’re so occupied with images and media, distracted by our phones and screens everywhere we look, people are looking for divisiveness and clickbait. I think there’s also a case of people looking for some kind of debate.”
Taylor said most of the negative comments online came from people who had not been to Canterbury and had not seen the work in real life, and one of the calls for the statue’s removal came all the way from Orkney.
Trump, responding directly to calls for his work to be removed from the river, said: “People, [an] “I have no idea. But I recommend they go and see it first.”
‘The body does not burn at night’
Stewart Ross, chairman of the Canterbury Memorial Society, the charity that commissioned the work, told Sky News: “Some people find it disturbing and shocking, and we have no objection to that. All public art is open to debate.”
The author, who likened calls to remove the work to the destruction of works of art during the Reformation, said: “I feel strongly about this. [call for censorship]. That’s what the Taliban is doing. If you don’t like it, don’t look at it.”
Ross said the “manufactured outrage” over the statue was “unnecessary” and that the charity was simply “trying to do the best it can”. He added: “People compare it to a dead body but I have yet to come across a dead body that glows at night.”
Working as an artist for over 25 years, Taylor has sculptures in marine areas around the world, including Australia, Mexico, Grenada and Norway. Prices for his sculptures start from around £1,300.
He first donated two original Alluvia figures to the City of Canterbury in 2008.