Sleeping Soldier Plymouth

Part of the Sleeping Soldier art installation, which is funded by the Arts Council. The installation piece is to create awareness of the sacrifices made by servicemen and women during WW1. The Sleeping Soldier installation involves the projection of hand drawn animations of 3 World War 1 servicemen and one of a waiting widow, struggling to stay awake at 4 historical sites across the South West. The installations were projected on the eve of remembrance 2018, Saturday 10th November.

 

The idea is to portray fallen soldiers awakening for one night to commemorate the centenary of Armistice. These soldiers stand guard sacrificing their sleep to keep watch over our sleeping cities, while searching for fallen comrades and loved ones. They were projected throughout the night and as the sun rises on the dawn of Remembrance Day, they slowly faded into the rising sun. Their time is over and they pass once more into eternal sleep to join their fallen comrades.

 

At Plymouth the artwork depicts a WW1 naval soldier who is projected on the Royal Citadel wall in a manner, which has him looking out over the sea from the Citadel, searching for fallen comrades who lie in eternal sleep in the depths of the ocean.

 

The hand drawn animations with pencil-sketched imagery give an ethereal feel: The way in which each frame is drawn and shaded makes the final animation flicker and jump, reinforcing the idea that these figures are in transition between two worlds and have only awoken for one night to find those they have lost. With the soldier struggling to stay awake creates a metaphor for the sacrifices all servicemen and women make during war.

Funder

Arts Council

Year

2018

Category

Installation

Tags

Sleeping Soldier