I would like to bring to the public's attention two bronze sculptures at the Winchester Gallery,796 Humboldt St.,that there has been no comment on in the media.Both these sculptures are by myself,[scroll down to see them].They both have to do with Canadian history in some aspect.
The first one is named "Belle-Poule",after a French ship in pre revolutionary France that defeated a superior English ship in a well publicized battle,[in France].This caused a hair style to be born in which aristocratic women would wear model ships in their hair to celebrate French naval victories."Belle-Poule"means"Pretty hen".
France lost Quebec in 1759 and they weren't very happy about that.In 1779 a French ship sailed out of Brest and ran into an English ship named "Quebec",[adding insult to injury].The two ships proceeded to blast each other to bits for 6 1/2 hours until the "Quebec"blew up,much to the approval of the French public.
The time period this piece was inspired by was 10 years before the French revolution.The decadence of the wealthy and privileged was such that the roofs of the carriages had to be raised to accommodate the hair styles of the women which were often two feet tall or taller.
"Belle-Poule" is a bust of a woman with a model ship in her hair.The bottom of the bust is a wave that flows around her,cresting in an art deco style both in front and behind her.She is holding a mask on a stick in each hand,one is held in front of her face with a smiling sweetly expression.The other is hidden behind her back with a weeping face on it,which to many viewers seems Japanese in its nature.The wonders of the Orient were in vogue at the time,evan if those setting the styles had only a tenuous understanding of that which they were attempting to emulate.A leviathan sticks its ferocious snout out from underneath the wave.The expression on the face of the bust is cold and calculating,deadpan on one side,with a hint of a smirk on the other side.If this privileged woman were to look down she would not be able to see the monster just beneath the surface;because the leviathans snout is pulled in just enough so it can't be seen by her beneath the wave at the front.The aristocracy could not see the very real monster lurking just beneath the surface of French society.
Women ran France at this time.They acquired this power by default of Louie XV's pleasure seeking court and an aristocracy that was too dissolute to pay attention to the real activity of the moment;the ferment of ideas stirring all of Europe.By controlling the nations intellectual life as well as it's affairs of state,aristocratic women cast France in their own image,-exquisite,quick witted,fun loving and deceptive.No society was ever more delightful,or cultivated so brilliantly the seeds of its own destruction.
The second sculpture is more grand than the first.It's named"Nova Albion".It was inspired by Sam Bawlf's book."The Secret Voyage of Sir Frances Drake".When Sam was writing the book he told me to," read up on Drake and keep my mouth shut".I did this,finding the former easier than the latter.
The book is about Drake's circumnavigation of the world from 1577 to 1580.Drake stole 40 tonnes of silver and gold from the Spanish off the west coast of South America.So much that he used this enormous treasure for ballast in his ship.After acquiring this unusual ballast Drake said that he sailed to where San Francisco is now located and claimed the land for Elizabeth I and England.Drake then recorded the rest of his voyage as it unfolded.
Sam got suspicious about the paucity of information about this part of the journey because the rest of it had been well documented.He did a lot of research and uncovered a 400 year old state secret.He came to the conclusion that Drake lied about where he'd been to hide what he'd actually been up to,which was that he had been much farther north searching for the western entrance to the fabled North West Passage.The year before Drake left Martin Frobisher thought he'd found the eastern entrance to it.If they could find the North West Passage it would be a quick and easy route to the riches of the Orient,[or so they thought].But it had to be kept secret from the Spanish.This was 9 years before the Spanish Armada.
"Nova Albion"would have been a half way stopover between England and the Orient for the ships to resupply and repair. "Nova Albion" would have been a half way stop over between England and the Orient for the ships to resupply and repair. "Nova Albion" was actually Vancouver Island. Sam's book is not popular in America,however numerous scholars,including two Yale university professors,have reviewed and supported Bawlf's claims that Drake made it much farther north than previously reported.
Queen Elizabeth I was Drakes patron.Her secret orders were for Drake to search for the western entrance to Frobisher's supposed passage.Amongst other things she made a 4000% return on the money she invested in Drake to make the voyage.
"Nova Albion" is a portrait of Queen Elizabeth I wearing her crown and a large ruffle collar.Her left arm is pointing to Vancouver Island on a globe.Her right arm is pulled up with her index finger to her lips making the shush sign.Beneath her arms Drake's ship,the Golden Hind,is sailing on huge bronze waves towards the bronze globe that Elizabeth is pointing to.Underneath it all a large and malevolent octopus resides.While crossing the doldrums in the South Atlantic,[farther than any English ship had ever gone before],not one of Drake's superstitious crew doubted that these waters and beyond were the haunts and habitats of demons and sea monsters.
Elizabeth has eyes and ears on her arms,they are supposedly 16th century symbols of fame.I met an inspector for Scotland Yard who said there would have been a double meaning for this.Elizabeth had the worlds first spy master,Lord Burghley and she literally had eyes and ears everywhere.On her right arm is a Celtic snake.The snake is a symbol of wisdom.The snake has a heart in it's mouth.The heart is symbolic for Elizabeth guarding her heart with wisdom.Elizabeth would have been the most eligible bachelorette in Europe,but her many suitors were not after her for love,they wanted her power.If she married her power would have gone to her husband,the"King".This is the main reason she never met. Both these sculptures are 31 inches tall on green marble bases.
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