Saint-Malo Reading Response

Artist Statement

This sculpture is a direct response to an excerpt from the book “All the Lights We Cannot See” by Antony Doer. This passage describes the panic among people during an air raid in France during World War II. It describes in detail the citizens of this small providence running for shelter, unsure of their fate. My sculpture recognizes an interior and exterior space to parallel the space of a bomb shelter. The exterior, made of a pliable, fragile material, carries the weight and energy of warfare. The charred ruins hail down on the dome-like structure with a knitted fabric attached. The knitted material stuffed into the interior space symbolizes a sense of comfort sought by those in a bomb shelter. Outside carries the weight and energy of warfare, while inside replicated the feeling of safety and security, even if it’s just a fragile shield.