De Wachters / The Sentinels
2007
900 cm
Cast iron
Four Sentinels
Bridge Venlo/Blerick, The Netherlands
During the Second World War the old Maas Bridges, vital connection between Venlo and Blerick, were destroyed twice. On the new town bridge from 1957 after years of intense preparation the municipality of Venlo installs four monumental sculptures by the artist Shinkichi Tajiri. the colossal diagonally opposed cast-iron couples, nine meters high from the socle upwards, call for a permanent guard against agression, violence and war. The rusted Sentinels are the city's symbolic protectors. They watch over the city so heavily destroyed on both sides of the river in the Second World war.
Photos: Egon Notermans