‘The Monument to the Unknown Woman Worker’, a 1992 sculpture by Louise Walsh on Great Victoria Street in Belfast (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2024)
Patrick Comerford
I know from recent experiences in a civic project in Stony Stratford how controversial public sculptures can be, and I have a little taste of the difficult criticism sculptors receive for the topics and the design of their work.
During our recent visit to Belfast, I returned to seem two of my favourite sculptures in the city, although they been controversial in ways that stand outside the usual political debates in Northern Ireland.
These two sculptures challenge the stereotype of political divisions based on sectarian and national conflict and instead encourage debate about women’s rights and the left/right divide that is often absent from political discussion in Northern Ireland.
‘The Monument to the Unknown Woman Worker’ is a 1992 sculpture by Louise Walsh on Great Victoria Street, near the Europa Hotel. It is cast in bronze and features two working class women with symbols of low paid work and unpaid women’s work embedded on the surfaces.
The domestic items include colanders, a shopping basket and clothes pegs, while the workplace items include a typist’s typewriter and a switchboard operator’s telephone. The older woman has a handle weaving in and out of her breasts, her earrings are ‘dummies,’ a hanger makes up her shoulder blades, and a slotted spatula and colander protrude from her buttocks.
The younger woman has multiple hairbrushes on her head. You also see a waitress’s apron, a hairdressing scissors and newspaper headlines from the 1940s such as ‘she’s engaged’ and ‘doesn’t she look lovely!’ – an ironic take on typical media references to women at the time.
The workplace items carried by the younger woman include a typist’s typewriter (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2024)
Louise Walsh was born in Co Cork, studied at Crawford Municipal School of Art in Cork and gained her MA in Sculpture from the University of Ulster, Belfast (1986). She has been a lecturer in the Sculpture Department at National College of Art and Design, Dublin (1996-2002) and is known for many public artworks in Belfast, Cavan, Dublin, Limerick and at Heathrow Airport.
Louise Walsh’s work is marked by her life-size energetic figures that challenge conventional depictions of women. She has exhibited at the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA) and Temple Bar Gallery in Dublin, the Belltable Arts Centre, Limerick, and in Graz in Austria in Dublin, Cavan and Limerick.
The Department of the Environment’s original commission for her work in Belfast in the late 1980s was for a work near the Crown Bar reflecting the history of nearby Amelia Street as a former red-light district, with ‘two colourful life-size ‘cartoon’ female figures’.
Louise Walsh argued it is offensive to portray women this way. The proposal was framed by a narrow view of this part of Belfast, overlooking the its diverse social history. It was once densely populated, with people working in a variety of employment, including in the linen factories and on the railways, with many women working in unpaid or low-paying jobs.
Until then, the only depiction of the female in sculpture in Northern Ireland was Queen Victoria, while all the men in sculptures were famous military men, political figures or religious leaders.
‘The Monument to the Unknown Woman Worker’ now faces the Crown Bar on the corner of Great Victoria Street and Amelia Street (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2024)
Louise Walsh submitted a proposal for two bronze female figures, addressing the underlying issues of women’s low-paid jobs and unpaid housework. Her design for her ‘Monument to the Unknown Woman Worker’ was accepted by the project’s landscape architect and the Art in Public Spaces Research Group.
However, the Belfast Development Office and the Belfast City Council opposed the project and the selected design, and the project was dropped in 1989.
Louise Walsh believes the political opposition to her proposal was fuelled by the sectarian politics of the time and debates about who is worthy of being commemorated in Northern Ireland. There was little or discussion about what art is or about the meaning of commemoration, and debate is said to have been one the longest ever debate in Belfast City Council.
‘Belfast has no heart for tarts,’ read one headline. ‘Shady ladies get the boot,’ read another. ‘Protest at the red light sculpture,’ said a third.
A few years later, a private developer recommissioned the work and eventually it was erected in 1992 facing the Crown Bar on the corner of Great Victoria Street and Amelia Street. Technically it stands on private land outside the former Great Victoria Street rail station. But to this day it is banned from public land in Belfast.
‘No Pasaran! They Shall Not Pass’ … a bronze figure of a Brigadista head by Anto Brennan, opposite Saint Anne’s Cathedral (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2024)
The second sculpture I visited in Belfast is ‘No Pasaran! They Shall Not Pass’, a bronze figure of a Brigadista head by Anto Brennan in Writers’ Square on Donegall Street, opposite Saint Anne’s Cathedral.
The Spanish Civil War in 1936-1939 gave many an opportunity to stand against the rise of fascism across Europe. Men and women from all over the world answered the call to defend democracy and their working-class counterparts. About 320 Irish volunteers fought against Franco’s forces as members of the XV International Brigade, although others from Ireland fought in Franco’s right-wing nationalist forces.
Belfast was deeply divided in the 1930s by political and religious conflict, yet 78 men from Northern Ireland fought in the Spanish Civil War. Breaking down sectarian divisions, 48 Catholics and Protestants served side-by-side in the ranks of the International Brigades, including 12 who died in Spain.
There are other memorials in Belfast recalling the Spanish Civil War. A plaque in the John Hewitt Bar recalls how Roberta and John Hewitt housed Basque refugees during the Spanish Civil War. The Spanish Civil War window by Alpha Glass in Belfast City Hall was unveiled by the Lord Mayor, Arder Carson, in 2015, with the support of all political parties on the council.
Anto Brennan’s statue in Writers’ Square was commissioned by the International Brigade Commemoration Committee and erected by the Open Window Production Team. It was unveiled by Bob Doyle, a veteran of the International Brigade, on 13 October 2007.
Jack Jones, President of the IBMT and former general secretary of the TGWU, who also fought in the International Brigades, was also present day, as were Jack Edwards, a Liverpool volunteer, and at least 18 families of Irish veterans.
The plaque reads:
Dedicated to the people of Belfast,
the island of Ireland and beyond who joined
the XV International Brigade to fight Fascism
in the Spanish Civil War 1936-1939,
and those men and women from all traditions
who supported the Spanish working people
and their Republic.
No Pasaran! They Shall Not Pass
The sculptor Anto Brennan is probably best known for his satirical ‘Piece Process’ chess set and his client list includes Bill Clinton, Tony Blair, Mary McAleese and Mo Mowlam.
He was inspired to turn to sculpture while he was working as a builder in London in the early 1990s, when he started making clay figures. He returned to Belfast in 1993 and turned his craft into a career, taking a stall in Smithfield Market with his brother Geraldo.
His ‘Piece Process’ chess board includes caricatures of Ian Paisley, Gerry Adams, Tony Blair, David Trimble, Mary McAleese and John Hume, while the pawns are RUC and IRA figures. Large versions of the ‘Piece Process’ are on display in City Hall and McHugh’s bar in Belfast, and in Hillsborough Castle.
Anto Brennan was brought up in a socialist family, and was always interested in politics.
His 6 foot statue of James Larkin, the Labour leader and founder of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU), was commissioned by ICTU in 2007 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Larkin’s arrival in Belfast. Other recent works include a 6 ft stone model of the Titanic to mark its centenary, and 8 ft high sculptures of shipyard workers for the Kremlin nightclub in Belfast.
Earlier this month, there were critical responses to Anto Brennan’s new statue of Queen Elizabeth II in Antrim Castle Gardens. The bronze sculpture was commissioned by Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council and also features Prince Philip and two corgis. But public responses have compared his depiction of Queen Elizabeth to a fisherwoman, Little Bo-Peep and Mrs Doubtfire.
Anto Brennan’s statue in Writers’ Square was unveiled in 2007 by Bob Doyle, a veteran of the International Brigade (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2024)
23 September 2024
Daily prayer in Ordinary Time 2024:
136, Monday 23 September 2024
‘No one after lighting a lamp hides it under a jar, or puts it under a bed’ (Luke 8: 16) … lamplight at night in the Market Square, Stony Stratford (Photographs: Patrick Comerford, 2024)
Patrick Comerford
We are continuing in Ordinary Time in the Church Calendar and this week began with the Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity (Trinity XVII).
I am planning to meeet people in Hampstead later today to discuss a book launch in London early next month. But, before today begins, I am taking some quiet time this morning to give thanks, for reflection, prayer and reading in these ways:
1, today’s Gospel reading;
2, a reflection on the Gospel reading;
3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary;
4, the Collects and Post-Communion prayer of the day.
‘No one after lighting a lamp hides it under a jar, or puts it under a bed’ (Luke 8: 16) … a lighting lamp in the Boot and Flogger in Southwark (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
Luke 8: 16-18 (NRSVA):
[Jesus said:] 16 ‘No one after lighting a lamp hides it under a jar, or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a lampstand, so that those who enter may see the light. 17 For nothing is hidden that will not be disclosed, nor is anything secret that will not become known and come to light. 18 Then pay attention to how you listen; for to those who have, more will be given; and from those who do not have, even what they seem to have will be taken away.’
Lichnos in Piskopianó stood out as a light on a hill in Crete, visible for miles below and out to sea (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2024)
Today’s Reflection:
When I was back in Piskopianó in Crete a few months ago, I was disappointed to see that one of my favourite tavernas, Lichnos, has been closed for some time now.
The name Lichnos comes from the Greek word λύχνος (lychnos), meaning a lamp or a light. The restaurant stood on a precipice on the north side of the village, close to Mika Villas, where I stayed regularly in the 1990s. Lichnos was perched on the edge of the hill, and from its balcony and roof garden there were panoramic views across Hersonissos below and out to the Mediterranean. At night, Lichnos stood out as a light on a hill, visible for miles below and out to sea.
The parable of the lamp under a bushel is told all three Synoptic Gospels: Matthew 5: 14-15, Mark 4: 21-25 and Luke 8: 16-18. In Saint Matthew’s Gospel, this parable continues the discourse on salt and light in the Sermon on the Mount. But Saint Mark and Saint Luke connect it with Jesus’s explanation of the Parable of the Sower.
The word λύχνος (lychnos) means a light, lamp or candle. But it is also used figuratively for a distinguished teacher, as when Jesus describes Saint John the Baptist as ‘a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light’ (John 5: 35).
This parable is also the source of the aphorism about hiding one’s light under a bushel.
The original Greek in Matthew (5: 15) and Mark (4: 21) is μόδιος (modios), usually translated as ‘basket.’ A modius was a Roman measure for dry things such as grain and equivalent to about a peck 8.75 litres.
However, Saint Luke uses the word σκεῦος (skeuos), meaning a vessel or utensil for containing anything. Saint Paul uses the same word when he refers to σκεύη ὀργῆς and σκεύη ἐλέους, vessels of wrath or vessels of mercy, when referring to individuals visited by punishment or visited by divine favour (see Romans 9: 22-23). This word is also used to describe the vessel or frame of the human individual (I Thessalonians 4: 4; I Peter 3: 7). Saint Luke also uses the word κλίνη (klinē) for a couch or bed.
The word bushel , meaning a bowl, was used in William Tyndale’s translation: ‘Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick, and it lighteth all them which are in the house.’
The key idea in this morning’s parable is that light or truth is not to be hidden or concealed. This light has been understood as Jesus, as his message, and as the believer's response to him and to his message.
In their writings, Hilary, Ambrose, and Bede understood that the light of the Gospel was not to be confined to Judaea, but to illuminate all nations.
But to hide one’s light under a bushel has come to mean saying little about one’s own skills and abilities, one’s own core values and beliefs, instead of being confident and telling others about them.
When do we hide our lights under bushels, or under a bowl?
When are we reluctant to be a beacon in the darkness, shining out for true values when light is needed?
Do I speak up often enough about injustice, oppression and violence and racism, war and prejudice? Or do I keep my views to myself at those crucial moments, hiding my light under a bushel?
The view from Lichnos in Piskopianó across Hersonissos and out to the north coast of Crete and the Mediterranean (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
Today’s Prayers (Monday 23 September 2024):
The theme this week in ‘Pray With the World Church’, the Prayer Diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel), is ‘Our God is Able.’ This theme was introduced yesterday in reflections by the Revd Thanduxolo Noketshe, priest in charge at Saint Mary and Christ Church, Diocese of North East Caribbean and Aruba, Province of the West Indies.
The USPG Prayer Diary today (Monday 23 September 2024) invites us to pray:
We pray for the people and church in the Diocese of North East Caribbean and Aruba. Bless church leaders such as the Revd Thanduxolo Noketshe as they carry out their ministry.
The Collect:
Almighty God,
you have made us for yourself,
and our hearts are restless till they find their rest in you:
pour your love into our hearts and draw us to yourself,
and so bring us at last to your heavenly city
where we shall see you face to face;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
The Post Communion Prayer:
Lord, we pray that your grace
may always precede and follow us,
and make us continually to be given to all good works;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Additional Collect:
Gracious God,
you call us to fullness of life:
deliver us from unbelief
and banish our anxieties
with the liberating love of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Yesterday’s reflection
Continued tomorrow
‘No one after lighting a lamp hides it under a jar, or puts it under a bed’ (Luke 8: 16) … lit candles in the Church of the Four Martyrs in Rethymnon, Crete (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org
‘No one after lighting a lamp hides it under a jar, or puts it under a bed’ (Luke 8: 16) … evening in a restaurant in York (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
Patrick Comerford
We are continuing in Ordinary Time in the Church Calendar and this week began with the Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity (Trinity XVII).
I am planning to meeet people in Hampstead later today to discuss a book launch in London early next month. But, before today begins, I am taking some quiet time this morning to give thanks, for reflection, prayer and reading in these ways:
1, today’s Gospel reading;
2, a reflection on the Gospel reading;
3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary;
4, the Collects and Post-Communion prayer of the day.
‘No one after lighting a lamp hides it under a jar, or puts it under a bed’ (Luke 8: 16) … a lighting lamp in the Boot and Flogger in Southwark (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
Luke 8: 16-18 (NRSVA):
[Jesus said:] 16 ‘No one after lighting a lamp hides it under a jar, or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a lampstand, so that those who enter may see the light. 17 For nothing is hidden that will not be disclosed, nor is anything secret that will not become known and come to light. 18 Then pay attention to how you listen; for to those who have, more will be given; and from those who do not have, even what they seem to have will be taken away.’
Lichnos in Piskopianó stood out as a light on a hill in Crete, visible for miles below and out to sea (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2024)
Today’s Reflection:
When I was back in Piskopianó in Crete a few months ago, I was disappointed to see that one of my favourite tavernas, Lichnos, has been closed for some time now.
The name Lichnos comes from the Greek word λύχνος (lychnos), meaning a lamp or a light. The restaurant stood on a precipice on the north side of the village, close to Mika Villas, where I stayed regularly in the 1990s. Lichnos was perched on the edge of the hill, and from its balcony and roof garden there were panoramic views across Hersonissos below and out to the Mediterranean. At night, Lichnos stood out as a light on a hill, visible for miles below and out to sea.
The parable of the lamp under a bushel is told all three Synoptic Gospels: Matthew 5: 14-15, Mark 4: 21-25 and Luke 8: 16-18. In Saint Matthew’s Gospel, this parable continues the discourse on salt and light in the Sermon on the Mount. But Saint Mark and Saint Luke connect it with Jesus’s explanation of the Parable of the Sower.
The word λύχνος (lychnos) means a light, lamp or candle. But it is also used figuratively for a distinguished teacher, as when Jesus describes Saint John the Baptist as ‘a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light’ (John 5: 35).
This parable is also the source of the aphorism about hiding one’s light under a bushel.
The original Greek in Matthew (5: 15) and Mark (4: 21) is μόδιος (modios), usually translated as ‘basket.’ A modius was a Roman measure for dry things such as grain and equivalent to about a peck 8.75 litres.
However, Saint Luke uses the word σκεῦος (skeuos), meaning a vessel or utensil for containing anything. Saint Paul uses the same word when he refers to σκεύη ὀργῆς and σκεύη ἐλέους, vessels of wrath or vessels of mercy, when referring to individuals visited by punishment or visited by divine favour (see Romans 9: 22-23). This word is also used to describe the vessel or frame of the human individual (I Thessalonians 4: 4; I Peter 3: 7). Saint Luke also uses the word κλίνη (klinē) for a couch or bed.
The word bushel , meaning a bowl, was used in William Tyndale’s translation: ‘Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick, and it lighteth all them which are in the house.’
The key idea in this morning’s parable is that light or truth is not to be hidden or concealed. This light has been understood as Jesus, as his message, and as the believer's response to him and to his message.
In their writings, Hilary, Ambrose, and Bede understood that the light of the Gospel was not to be confined to Judaea, but to illuminate all nations.
But to hide one’s light under a bushel has come to mean saying little about one’s own skills and abilities, one’s own core values and beliefs, instead of being confident and telling others about them.
When do we hide our lights under bushels, or under a bowl?
When are we reluctant to be a beacon in the darkness, shining out for true values when light is needed?
Do I speak up often enough about injustice, oppression and violence and racism, war and prejudice? Or do I keep my views to myself at those crucial moments, hiding my light under a bushel?
The view from Lichnos in Piskopianó across Hersonissos and out to the north coast of Crete and the Mediterranean (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
Today’s Prayers (Monday 23 September 2024):
The theme this week in ‘Pray With the World Church’, the Prayer Diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel), is ‘Our God is Able.’ This theme was introduced yesterday in reflections by the Revd Thanduxolo Noketshe, priest in charge at Saint Mary and Christ Church, Diocese of North East Caribbean and Aruba, Province of the West Indies.
The USPG Prayer Diary today (Monday 23 September 2024) invites us to pray:
We pray for the people and church in the Diocese of North East Caribbean and Aruba. Bless church leaders such as the Revd Thanduxolo Noketshe as they carry out their ministry.
The Collect:
Almighty God,
you have made us for yourself,
and our hearts are restless till they find their rest in you:
pour your love into our hearts and draw us to yourself,
and so bring us at last to your heavenly city
where we shall see you face to face;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
The Post Communion Prayer:
Lord, we pray that your grace
may always precede and follow us,
and make us continually to be given to all good works;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Additional Collect:
Gracious God,
you call us to fullness of life:
deliver us from unbelief
and banish our anxieties
with the liberating love of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Yesterday’s reflection
Continued tomorrow
‘No one after lighting a lamp hides it under a jar, or puts it under a bed’ (Luke 8: 16) … lit candles in the Church of the Four Martyrs in Rethymnon, Crete (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org
‘No one after lighting a lamp hides it under a jar, or puts it under a bed’ (Luke 8: 16) … evening in a restaurant in York (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)
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