Iconic images of Vietnam War protests show protestors placing flowers in gun barrels as a symbol of peace and hope. Research led me to read about the Kent State University massacre in 1970. Allison Krause was a 19 year old fine arts student at Kent State University. Archives report Allison had talked with a young Ohio Army National Guardsman who had a lilac flower in his gun barrel, and said to him “Flowers are better than bullets”. Later that day, the National Guard opened fire on the protesting students, with Allison fatally shot in the chest; one of four students killed.
The title of the work is from a poem Flowers and Bullets, written by Yevgeny Yevtushenko.
Mothers of the World Whisper is dedicated to my birth mother who died whilst I was developing the work.
Mothers of the World Whisper | 2014 | recycled gun parts, lead, plaster corbel | 28 x 13 x 28 cm
Mothers of the World Whisper (detail view) | 2014 | recycled gun parts, lead, plaster corbel | 28 x 13 x 28 cm