 |
|
©Ellen Leslie
|
There was once a time when I never missed any changes to the
London urban landscape. Those were the days when virtually all my research work
was carried out within the six London transport zones. But now that I work all
over the country, keeping tabs on new developments (happening at an alarming
rate) in the centre of town, is trickier. But
last week I had to visit the Howard de Walden estate, just north of Oxford
Street. I walked through Cavendish Square, close to Oxford Circus and was
surprised to sense the fresh smell of soap. Believe you me, in this part of the
world, soap is the last thing you expect! Also something was different about the
square. I’ve known it all my life. What was it? The soap happened to be a clue.
For years there had been a large, late 18th
century stone plinth in the middle of the square, dedicated to the Duke of
Cumberland (1721-1765). This third son
of George II had defeated Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Jacobites at the Battle
of Culloden (1746). This victory made him extremely popular for a short time, but
it was his “pacification” of the Jacobites, his unbending punishment of any
enemy sympathiser, that earned him the name “Butcher Cumberland”.
Despite his latter unpopularity the plinth, with a statue of
the Duke of Cumberland on horseback on top, erected by his small but dedicated
group of supporters, wasn’t removed until nearly 100 years later in 1868. The
plinth remained, and that is how I remembered the square.
When I walked through last week though, the statue of “Butcher
Cumberland” and horse had been “returned”. But something wasn’t quite right. The surface looked overly weather worn as if it had stood there fighting the
elements for nearly 250 years …. and it smelt of soap.
It transpired that it is in fact a soap sculpture, created by South Korean
artist Meekyoung Shin. Entitled, “Written in Soap, A Plinth Project”, it was
erected in July last year and will be there for a year, so you still have a few
months to go and see it for yourself. The purpose of the fast-eroding statue is
to examine the passage of time, as it weathers through all four seasons of the
year.
 |
|
© theartnewspaper.com
|
Could this be the way forward for other statues of
controversial individuals? Put up a soap carving for a few months and as it
erodes before our eyes, we would be coerced to consider the reputation of
the person depicted, whether the final analysis is good or bad ….
 |
|
©Ellen Leslie
|
