Pete Bedell

Statue Wars

Dublin’s statues have had a checkered career over the past two centuries, spanning the colonial period before the 1916 Rising and the subsequent period of the Irish Free State. After 1922, there were moves to purge the city of the remnants of the British empire, blowing many of the statues off their pedestals. The stories behind Dublin’s statues therefore gives valuable insight into the turbulence of Irish history and so this project involves both photography and history. Books on Dublin’s statues do not pay enough attention to their visual representation, so I have expanded the frame to include their surrounding environments. These photographs were generally taken just before noon in late winter and early spring, when the sun needed to be high enough to light the street. This brought in the hazards of crowds and traffic, requiring much patience while waiting for the decisive moment.