Friday, October 29, 2010

Looking for a throne to suit a tyrant? Sculpture has the answer.

Currently on exhibition in the British Museum in London, UK—the "Throne of Weapons" from the Mozambican artist Kester (Cristóvão Canhavato) is definitely an interesting piece. Not just in creativity, but also the back-story of the African country: fueled by civil war, countless killings, corruption and everything bad.

Also, it reminds me of that movie with Nicolas Cage.*
Kester's version of what the Lord of War should have been sitting on
Of course there's also the positive, that this sculpture/throne was made out of decommissioned weapons—with the hope that they won't be used again, and that such events never transpire again (and that it's probably good for the environment, does this count as recycling?) On the serious note, I think that if there's anything that history's taught us—it is that we don't learn from it. Terrible things like that are normal, just the world we live in—which is said too often, but in the wrong context: as it's also the world we must make better, improve. It is our responsibility to learn from history and to learn from others.

But on the brighter note, here's Kester pretending to be Mr. Cage:
Doesn't that reassure you that everything is just gonna be A-OK?
If you want more information about the work, and where it's been exhibited, check out this brochure from the British Museum.

*Lord of War (2005)

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