5,000 Melting Ice Sculptures In Birmingham Commemorate Victims Of WWI
5,000 ice figurines besieged the steps in Birmingham’s Chamberlain Square only to grimly melt in the hot sunshine. This surreal scene was set up to commemorate the men and women (not only soldiers) who lost their lives in World War I.
The installation, called “Minimum Monument,” is the work of Brazilian sculptor Nele Azevedo and it is her largest project so far. Working together with a team of 20 volunteers, it took the artist a fortnight to create all of the little ice sculptures. The figures were brought to the installation site in 10 special freezers and set up shortly before the start of the event.
“I wanted to break with the traditional characteristics of a monument,“ said Azevedo to Birmingham Mail. “My sculptures remember people who are not remembered by other monuments.“
More info: neleazevedo.com.br (h/t: birminghammail.co.uk)
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Absolutely beautiful….. and very.very moving. My father fought in this war and although he came back – in essence he “lost” his life so he was one of these figures.
I’m a sucker for memorials and whatnot, but this is stupendous