Susan Hiller
Monument
Birmingham, Ikon Gallery, 1981
16 pp.,, 21 x 15 cm., staple-bound
Edition of 750
Published in co-operation with A Space, Toronto, this rare exhibition catalogue documents Monument, an installation of forty-one c-type photographs of memorial plaques in Postman’s Park in London, with a twenty-minute audio piece, and a park bench to sit on while listening.
Each plaque (mostly from 1850 to 1990) commemorates an ordinary man, woman or child who died while performing an act of heroism. For example:
‘Elizabeth Boxall/Aged 17 of Bethnal Green/ Who Died of Injuries Received/In Trying to Save/ A Child/From a Runaway Horse/June 20 1888’.
The audio tape plays Hiller's spoken stream of consciousness reaction to the memorials, commenting on themes of heroism, death, memory and representation. The booklet features the texts (in English and French) from the tape, an essay by Tim Guest and artist’s notes.
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