Alien Sculpture Victoria London by David Breuer-Weil “I love the idea of the shock of an alien landing in the heart of London and taking everybody by surprise. Every new work of art should be like an alien landing, something sudden and unexpected. Grosvenor Gardens is named after the great land-owning Grosvenor Family, and the site is very close to Buckingham Palace It is a very passionate piece of sculpting, with huge enlarged fingerprints. I have this idea that extra-terrestrials are completely human, maybe just different in scale, as is the case with my sculpture, which is five times the size of an ordinary person, but very human otherwise. The work also has a personal story. My grandfather was a refugee from Vienna and fled after the Nazis took over there in 1938. He landed in England very suddenly, but found he was labeled an ‘Enemy Alien’ when he arrived here. He always discussed the tragedy of being considered an alien in his new home. I wrote his name, Ernst, on the sculpture in huge letters. The sculpture is more about our sense of belonging than any sci-fi theme, but both ideas are present. There is a 1930s sculpture in Grosvenor Gardens of Marshall Foch. He was a World War I allied hero who famously predicted the years of turmoil that would follow the Versailles treaty. So my Alien seems particularly apt in his company, given my family history.” http://www.culture24.org.uk/art/sculpture-and-installation/art431667
