Gilt of Cain (London, England)

Gilt of Cain (London, England)

Subject (Topic)
Slavery
Resistance
Middle Passage
Transatlantic Slave Trade
Slave Trade
Public art
Public sculpture
London, UK

Subject (Object Type)
Commemorative sculpture

Located near St. Mary Woolnoth Church, where the abolitionist William Wilberforce heard the anti-slavery sermons of the Rev. John Newton, the monument consists of 17 carved granite columns clustered around a granite podium. The curvilinear forms of the columns recall the growing stems of sugarcane. According to the artists, the position of the columns and podium are meant to suggest a group of people “gathered to listen to a speaker – perhaps the Rev Newton preaching against slavery, perhaps a trader auctioning his slaves, perhaps William Wilberforce campaigning in front of an audience.” Excerpts from Lemn Sissay's poem, the Gilt of Cain, are inscribed on the work. The words are inscribed in the same typography used in early abolitionist literature printed near the site.

Sissay, Lemn (Poet); Visocchi, Michael (Sculptor)

Future City

FurtureCity; Black British Heritage; City of London

To learn more about the artists and the history of the work's commission, click here.

JPEG

English

Visual Arts-Sculpture

120 Fenchurch St, London EC3M 5BA, UK (51.5121°N 0.0815°W)

Sculpture