Belgian Gate

Belgian Gate is a re-envisaging of General Erwin Rommel’s WW2 war object of the same name. Rommel was a decorated Nazi General who designed many objects of war for a variety of purposes. The Belgian Gate was a strong submersible structure that was wheeled onto the beaches of Normandy in anticipation of the Allied landings. Mines were attached to the uppermost posts of the structure that would explode on impact with allied vessels whilst the gate was submerged at high tide. In an ironic twist, illustrating the folly of war, the Allies landed at low tide and used the Belgian Gates and other beach defences as shelter from German guns.
The piece is one of a group of works collectively entitled History Squared, identified by the colours red, black and white, in which historic narratives, both global and personal, are re-envisaged and re-contextualised for the purpose of exploring how time and context alter meaning.