Christopher Madden

Political

  • Political protest art – the Oppressor Impaled by the Oppressed

    Political contemporary art - hammer sculpture - oppression overthrown by the oppressed

    The Oppressor Impaled by the Oppressed. Hammer and nails sculpture.

    Hammer, nails. This version, May 2022. Original concept, 2010.

    This sculpture is partly a metaphor for oppression and rebellion.
    The work shows a hammer nailed to a surface by nails.
    Part of the concept behind the sculpture is that the hammer is being impaled by the objects that it normally hits.
    How did the nails manage to impale the hammer? Were the nails hammered into the hammer by another hammer? In that case the nails are not necessarily a metaphor for the oppressed rising up to overthrow their oppressor (the hammer) using their own power, but are more like the followers of another power (another hammer?) that may turn out to be as oppressive as the hammer that’s been overthrown.
    The use of handyman’s tools such as hammers, pliers and spanners is a recurring feature of my artwork.

    contemporary art exhibition, Tremenheere Sculpture Gardens
    The work in my solo show at Tremenheere Sculpture Gardens, Cornwall, 2022

    post content

  • Hammer and nails sculpture – a study of oppression and rebellion

    Political contemporary art about oppression and rebellion using hammer and nails

    The Oppressor Impaled by the Oppressed. Hammer and nails sculpture

    Hammer, nails, plank. June 2015.

    A sculpture composed of a hammer nailed to a plank of wood.
    The hammer is being empaled by the objects that it normally hits.
    This can be interpreted as a metaphor for oppression and rebellion, and it’s also a study in irony.
    How did the nails come to be impaling the hammer? Were the nails hammered into place by another hammer? In this case the nails may not be the downtrodden oppressed rising up to overthrow their oppressor using their own power, but are possibly the followers of another power (another hammer?) that may turn out to be as oppressive as the hammer they’ve empaled.

    Other versions of this piece have the hammer on a horizontal surface, such as on the top of a plinth, while further iterations use different numbers of nails. The vertical version shown here is in some ways disturbing because the vertical configuration gives more of an impression of the hammer being violently empaled rather than simply nailed down to the spot. It is also disturbingly suggestive of a crucifixion in Christian iconography.

    post content