102363 | GREAT BRITAIN. "As Ye Sow" cast bronze Medal.

102363  |  GREAT BRITAIN. "As Ye Sow" cast bronze Medal. Issued 2013 (100mm, 12h). By M. Sandle for the British Art Medal Society.

 

F16 fighter pilot advancing facing within partially demolished building, wearing gasmask and holding up numerous severed heads as a trophy; stellate-patterned blast in foreground / In seven lines: Michael Sandle / 2013 / "As Ye Sow" / A medal of / dishonour / for 'Collateral / Damage'. Edge: Plain.

 

BAMS 64. Essentially as made. Deep glossy black-green surfaces. Includes original box of issue. From a very limited issuance of just 32 pieces cast.

 

Incredibly powerful and moving, this medal has rather deep meaning. In reference to its overall design and background, the author writes that "...the idea for 'As Ye Sow' came from Holman Hunt’s painting 'The Light of the World.' It has not been my intention to satirise this work, as although I am not religious I remain an admirer of this artist. The real motivation behind this medal is the fact that it makes me puke whenever I hear politicians say things like, 'We are in Afghanistan to make the streets of Britain safer.' So therefore in depicting Christ as an F16 Pilot I have attempted to show the hypocrisy behind the nominal Judaeo-Christian values of the West that are claimed to be behind our grotesque and extraordinarily unintelligent foreign policies. We are horrified when Muslim extremists cut off heads, but we cut off heads too–including those of children–via indiscriminate air and drone strikes."

 

Upload: 15 March 2023.