A new sculpture working as a meditation on the ongoing conflict in Ukraine has been unveiled on The Liverpool Plinth. Boy with knife carnation by Wirral based artist Brigitte Jurack is the sixth sculpture to be installed onto the Plinth.
The work will be in situ on The Liverpool Plinth for the next 12 months.
Boy with knife carnation is a piece originally conceived as a meditation on the potential of violence. The knife in the original sculpture is replaced with a carnation, which will be replaced to change colour throughout the year. In Ukrainian culture, different coloured carnations are used to symbolise different feelings and emotions. Red carnations, for example, are given on 8 May to veterans, white are given as a sign of pure love and pink to mothers to celebrate undying love.
Artist Brigitte Jurack says:
“I am honoured to see this sculpture in the public realm at St. Nicholas Church. The contemporary hooded boy is at the threshold to adolescence, a time of turmoil and uncertainty. His pose represents uncertainty: How will he remain on the path of peace in the light of external and internal conflict?”
The Liverpool Plinth is a public art partnership between Liverpool BID Company, dot-art and Liverpool Parish Church. Boy with knife carnation is the latest sculpture to be installed onto the Plinth, helping to enrich public spaces within Liverpool’s Culture & Commerce BID Area. Established in 2018, The Liverpool Plinth is located at the Grade II listed Liverpool Parish Church, the Church of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas, and is managed together with Liverpool BID Company and dot-art.
Part of the Public Art Strategy, The Liverpool Plinth is the Northern response to London’s Trafalgar Square Fourth Plinth. Celebrating and platforming sculptors, the successful sculpture is selected via Open Call, for artists living and working within the North of England. In 2023, this geographical area was extended to include the Midlands. The selected artist receives £1,000.
Since its inception, the project has brought public art into the city centre, exploring diverse issues including disability, mental health, climate change and heritage. Previous artists whose work has been displayed on The Liverpool Plinth include; Tony Heaton with Gold Lamé, Sam Shendi with Split Decision, Gail Dooley with Tidal Shame, Faith Bebbington with Jimmy, Katie McGuire with 2400.
