Set up in public places, statuary aims to cow us into reverence: Nelson on his column protectively scans the horizon, Liberty raises a belligerent club disguised as an enlightening torch, and Joan of Arc, fireproof inside a skin of gold, rides in triumph down the Rue de Rivoli. Such memorials celebrate power, and take pride in outliving the passers-by who stare up at them. When installs his sculptures in gardens or in architectural settings, he has a more ingratiating purpose. His works are happy to dematerialise, disappearing into the sky they reflect; they don't mind showing you your own...
photo: Public Domain
