The Bolt of Lightning
‘The Bolt of Lightning’ was an exciting project! Particularly because of its size. We deliberately decided that it would be taller than The Angel of the North. Like The Angel, I feel the name of a sculpture is important and ‘The Bolt of Lightning’ hopefully has a nice ring to it.
The choice of aircraft is relevant to the whole design. The sculpture commemorates RAF Burtonwood and Base Air Depot 1 (BAD 1) which is what it became when it was handed over to the USAAF in 1942 during the Second World War. It became the largest airfield in Europe and the current M62 sits on one of its runways. Over 18,000 American servicemen worked there, building, assembling and repairing aircraft. Over 1000 of those aircraft were P-38 Lockheed Lightnings which is one of the main reasons for my choosing that as the basis for the design. I also chose it because of its distinctive silhouette with its twin boom construction. It is arguably the USA’s most iconic World War II aircraft and their only aircraft in production throughout the war.
So the sculpture stands in memory of all those young servicemen who came from the cities and farms across America to serve in the huge fight against the Nazi regime. Hopefully the drama and size of the sculpture will help to make people reflect on what we owe to them.
‘The Bolt of Lightning’ was an exciting project! Particularly because of its size. We deliberately decided that it would be taller than The Angel of the North. Like The Angel, I feel the name of a sculpture is important and ‘The Bolt of Lightning’ hopefully has a nice ring to it.
The choice of aircraft is relevant to the whole design. The sculpture commemorates RAF Burtonwood and Base Air Depot 1 (BAD 1) which is what it became when it was handed over to the USAAF in 1942 during the Second World War. It became the largest airfield in Europe and the current M62 sits on one of its runways. Over 18,000 American servicemen worked there, building, assembling and repairing aircraft. Over 1000 of those aircraft were P-38 Lockheed Lightnings which is one of the main reasons for my choosing that as the basis for the design. I also chose it because of its distinctive silhouette with its twin boom construction. It is arguably the USA’s most iconic World War II aircraft and their only aircraft in production throughout the war.
So the sculpture stands in memory of all those young servicemen who came from the cities and farms across America to serve in the huge fight against the Nazi regime. Hopefully the drama and size of the sculpture will help to make people reflect on what we owe to them.
