To mark Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD) (Monday 27th January), the BGS and wider community #StandTogether to commemorate 75 years since the end of the Holocaust, and the 25th anniversary of the genocide in Bosnia. Inspired by the visual imagery of the Memorial Flame, a group of Sixth Form students designed and created an evocative white column sculpture, with powerful words, which remind of us of the pain and cruelty of the Holocaust.
Leigh-Ann Cudjoe (Lower Sixth) who was part of the project, said: “When creating our sculpture, we wanted to make it a collaborative piece of art. We asked the whole school to discuss in their forms the Holocaust and to come up with five words that reflected their thoughts and feelings about it. The collaborative piece represents the fact that the Holocaust affected everyone, where one race was considered superior and discriminated everybody else.
“We decided to follow a minimalistic theme which conforms to how the concentration camps were set up, in uniform regimented lines. As the words run into one another, you have to stop and look at the piece to realise the importance of each word. This fits in with the idea that the Holocaust was taking place in plain sight, however, people just dismissed what was going on or chose to ignore it.
“The font Times New Roman links to the standard typeface that would have been used during the war, and creates links to the propaganda that was printed by Joseph Goebbels in Nazi Germany. The standard font also takes away the identity of those who endured such horrific circumstances. Furthermore, the lights beaming through the letters represent a hope for change, and turns the dark and gloomy words to something more hopeful as the lights illuminate. As you walk past the sculpture the shadow of the light follows, this feature pays honour to the iconic phrase, Lest we Forget.”
The poignant art work will be displayed at the Higgins Gallery in Bedford from Tuesday 21st - 31st January (free entry), as part of the 75 Memorial Flames exhibition. For more information, click here.
