Saturday, October 12, 2013

Gilt of Cain


This modern sculpture by Michael Visocchi in central London was unveiled by Bishop Desmond Tutu in 2008 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade. It incorporates lines from a poem by Lemn Sissay, "Gilt of Cain," which interweaves Biblical references with terms from the financial industry.

The sculpture seems to exist to remind the financial community that its obligations go beyond the dollar and the pound.


Then again, this Master of the Universe was using the sculpture to tie his shoe, so who knows whether that message is really sinking in.


The scattered columns were inspired by stalks of sugar cane, with their positions meant to suggest a crowd gathering around a podium or pulpit to listen. You can read Lemn Sissay's entire poem here.

3 comments:

Sharon said...

That is amazingly beautiful and inspiring.

Linda Sue said...

love the sculpture and the suits meandering through. Serious dress code !

The Bug said...

I was trying to make sense of the words in the first picture & having NO luck so I gave up. Ha! I like the message - but I'll bet I'd sit on one of those steps if I walked by...