Tim Shaw ‘Man on Fire’ Acquired by Imperial War Museum for Permanent Display

Anima Mundi are delighted to announce that the Imperial War Museums have acquired Tim Shaw’s monumental sculpture 'Man On Fire' to be permanently installed at the Imperial War Museum North in front of the museum’s Libeskind building near Manchester. The work, cast into bronze, will be unveiled in 2023.

Man On Fire was originally conceived in response to the US-led invasion of Iraq. Larger than life in scale at 4m x 4m x 2.5m, it captures the horrific moments of a figure on fire, caught in conflict. The sculpture is a powerful image of contemporary conflict and compassionately relates to the human cost of war.

Shaw states “"On 20 March 2003, a United States-led coalition which included British forces launched the ground invasion of Iraq. As the 20th anniversary of the Iraq conflict approaches, the lives of those affected by war come into sharp focus. 
 
Originally shaped by photographs of a soldier diving for his life from a burning armoured vehicle during a riot in Basra, Iraq 2005, 'Man on Fire' bears witness to the universal horror of war. War is time old, and conflict does not discriminate between gender, age or country. Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine, testifies to the fact that we continually repeat the same tragic mistakes.
 
Thanks to Castle Fine Arts the foundry completing work on this monumental sculpture - it’s a colossal task which involves the casting and welding together of over one hundred separate pieces onto steel reinforcement and all load bearing down on one area of the foot. When the metalwork is completed, the sculpture will be patinated deepest matt black and presented to the museum on a stainless steel base.”

For further information on Tim Shaw click here