The newly dedicated "Guardian" sculpture that has been built on the site of the old Six Bells Colliery at Abertillery in South Wales is astonishing.I visited it on Saturday.My Father worked for 40 years for the Coal Board and gave his life to the industry.It is designed to commemorate the disaster that occurred in the colliery 50 years ago on June 28th 1960, when a gas explosion ripped through the colliery killing 45 of the 48 men working. Designed by artist Sebastien Boyesen, it stands 20 meters tall, the statue being 12.6m in height, and the plinth 7.4m.
Boyesen, who is a genius worked hard and he did a lot of community consultation, setting up a table in the centre of Abertillery and asking people what they wanted of the memorial.
"We had people in tears talking about it, talking about their loved ones who had died — their fathers, uncles, brothers. It was very moving. It was as if you were talking to survivors from a war. I realised we were doing something that had much more resonance with the people. So often, public art is decorative; this is more than that."
It certainly is.