CHRISTOPHER MADDEN

contemporary art sculpture utilising household objects

The oppressor empaled by the oppressed

This sculptural piece consists of a hammer nailed to a plank of wood.
Part of the concept behind the work is that the hammer is being empaled by the objects that it normally hits.
It could be a metaphor for oppression and rebellion, or it could be simply a study in irony.
Other versions of this piece have the hammer on a horizontal surface, such as on the top of a plinth. Other versions use different numbers of nails. The vertical version shown here is in some ways more disturbing than the horizontal ones, as the vertical format gives more of an impression of the hammer being violently empaled rather than simply nailed down, disturbingly suggestive of a crucifixion.