Anzac Day today, a day of commemoration. Inside the Anzac War Memorial in Hyde Park (built in 1934) is this amazing sculpture called "The Sacrifice". It depicts the recumbent figure of a young warrior who has made the supreme sacrifice; his naked body lies upon a shield which is supported by three women(not visible here) - his best loved Mother, Wife and Sister and in the arms of one is a child, the future generations for whom the sacrifice has been made.
The group rises from symbolic flames of sacrifice, which radiate from its base. Placed centrally in the ‘Hall of Silence’ (lower level), this piece is only visible from the ‘Hall of Memory’ (top circular gallery), so that all who gaze upon the group must bow their heads in acknowledgement of the self-sacrifice engendered by war. Full details about this piece here.
To tell you the truth, I'm not very comfortable with this representation: the naked soldier, arms outstretched on a sword, evidently resembles a Christ on the cross. Is there a parallel to be drawn between a man who gives his life to save his country and the one who gave his to save all men? I'm afraid it doesn't work for me. Associating war and religion is dangerous, as has been seen many times in history. Unfortunately it's a string that is still pulled today...
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Anzac Day aujourd'hui, journée du souvenir. A l'intérieur de l'Anzac War Memorial de Hyde Park (construit en 1934) se trouve cette étonnante sculpture, "Le Sacrifice" représentant un jeune soldat nu émergeant des flammes du sacrifice, faisant barrage de son corps pour protéger son pays et en payant le prix de sa vie. Lire toute la symbolique ici, très intéressante (en anglais).
Pour tout dire je ne me sens pas à l'aise avec cette représentation : le soldat nu, bras étendus sur une épée, ressemble furieusement à un Christ en croix. Peut-on faire un parallèle entre un homme qui donne sa vie pour son pays et celui qui a donné la sienne pour tous les hommes ? Ca ne fonctionne pas pour moi. Associer guerre et religion a déjà eu dans l'histoire les effets désastreux que l'on sait. Malheureusement, c'est une ficelle qui est encore souvent tirée aujourd'hui.
