GARDENERS take great care of them, King Charles hugs them, but Belfast-born international sculptor Tim Shaw rescues them for the sake of art.
Walking in the Cornish village of Mawnan Smith, he came upon the remains of a huge tree: the stump was there, but where was the rest of it? After some detective work, he discovered the trunk of the Monterey pine and laid claim to it.
In his studio in Falmouth, it now stands 10-feet tall, with a wide girth and weighing four tons.
“It was difficult but we moved it to the studio with the help of a tractor driver and his trailer,” explains Tim.
“Then manoeuvring it into the upright position was something else. We were scared setting it up, it wobbled to the left and to the right and to the left again – if it toppled, one of us would have been killed.”
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Eventually, it stood firm, and Tim was able to start work. This magnificent piece of wood will be used to create a large figure of a Mummer, the first of a group of 10 figures intended to tour sculpture parks in the UK and Europe before ultimately finding their resting place along the Irish border.
The project celebrates the traditions of strawing-up and rhyming, when Mumming was once common in towns and villages across Ireland. It’s something that has fascinated Tim for many years and, although he has made smaller bronze figures, this is a very ambitious project.
Working closely with the Armagh Rhymers has given him a unique insight into the drama of storytelling with the ritual of masks and music.
Why take on something that requires electric saws of all sizes and months of work?
“The Mummers represent our heritage, the days when community mattered. They went from door to door and village to village, and in this day and age of clutter in our lives, things that we don’t need, maybe it’s time to look back on tradition of community – especially at a time of conflict between humanity and the Earth, when the climate crisis demands that we change our ways.”
Not only is Tim working on one figure, he also obtained the rest of the pine tree trunk and has enough for a second Mummer. His plan is that, once he perfects these prototypes, he’ll then cast them in bronze, his chosen material.
A selection work of by this Royal Academy of Arts member will be exhibited in the Royal Ulster Academy exhibition at the Ulster Museum in October.
SHOCKING REVELATIONS
Beyond reproach? Consummate professional? Thoroughly nice man? Well, that’s what we reckoned.
Huw Edwards wasn’t the man we thought he was, and yet his mates still protect his image despite him pleading guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children.
Edwards admitted to having 41 illegal images of children, including seven category ‘A’ images, the most serious classification. The children involved were possibly as young as seven.
The bottom line is Edwards is nothing but a despicable old man who milked the situation without shame. His wife must have struggled with the knowledge, yet bravely she told the world the suspect within the BBC was her husband.
How the mighty have fallen. National treasure? National revolting inhuman being, like all others of his ilk.
The awful worship of celebrity is dying fast. Good – the faster the better, and that includes employers, in this case the BBC, which said it was shocked to learn of Edwards’ twisted and vile behaviour, despite knowing months ago.
It was only when I listened to a professional whose sad job was to sift through such images before court proceedings that I realised what was involved – not just pictures of unclothed children, but the terrifying trauma they are subjected to in order to obtain shocking images and videos.
He spoke of their screams of pain. That has lingered in my mind.
STOP IT NOW
Stop It Now is a confidential online help line for anyone worried about their own sexual thoughts, feelings or behaviour towards children.
At this confidential helpline on 0808 1000 900 you can use their live and confidential chat or send a secure email. From the Republic of Ireland you can call the helpline on +44 1372 847 161 (charges subject to your service provider).
Stop It Now also offers advice if you’re worried about another adult’s online or offline sexual behaviour towards children, as well as help if you’re concerned about a young person’s sexual behaviour or concerned about the behaviour of another adult.
It also provides information on how to keep children safe from sexual abuse on its Parents Protect website and learning programme.
More details at stopitnow.org.uk.
