Carving the monument
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Brian Dorsett-Bailey and I visited workshops in Kent to see work beginning on the oak pillars for the Antarctic Monument by the sculptor Oliver Barratt.
Each of two 3 metre pillars consists of five beams of oak which have been cramped and stuck together, leaving a space up the middle which will take a stainless steel column. After initial cutting at right angles to the line of the beams with a saw, Oliver is using curved chisels to cut out the shape of each of the pillars, as can be seen in the first picture. When he is satisfied with the shapes he will smooth each of the pillars with sandpaper until they are as smooth as the maquette shown in the photographs below.
Brian Dorsett-Bailey can be see making a number of symbolic cuts into the oak in memory of his brother {cms_selflink page='65' text='Jeremy'}.
The finished sculpture will be placed beside the Scott Polar Research Institute, Cambridge and dedicated on 12 May 2011 at 4.00pm.
