On February the twenty-second 1944 an American B17 Flying Fortress Bomber crash landed in the trees in Endcliffe Park. All ten crew members were killed. A small memorial plaque marks the spot. This work stemmed from a chance encounter with this plaque, which is situated rather off the beaten track, in the woods behind the cafe. I am exploring the way in which an event distant in time but close in place can effect the way in which we respond to a particular location. The aircraft itself is long gone but it has left its imprint on the collective memory and is inextricably linked with the place. Although the work is stimulated by the crash of 50 years ago it also draws heavily on the site and neighbourhood as it is today. It includes imagery relating both to the historical facts and to the present day objects and images found in the park and it's immediate vicinity. I have visited the location many times since I first discovered the plaque and this work is my personal response to the events and the location rather than being a memorial in any conventional sense.

The aluminium ring pulls are a very common find in the park today and this contemporary twisted metal is for me a reminder of the twisted metal which would have been present in 1944. The glossy photos of houses ,taken from local estate agents brochures recall the fact that the pilot was able to manoeuvre his stricken craft so as to avoid hitting any houses in what was a densely populated residential area. He was posthumously awarded the distinguished flying cross for his gallantry Other sources of imagery include maps, cartographic symbols, aerial photographs and military style lettering. In the 'map relief' piece the plane is both literally and metaphorically imprinted on the landscape while the piece made up of small squares of photographs takes its form of construction from the Jade Princes' burial suits (which were made from thousands of tiny squares of jade wired together at the corners) and is a direct reference to the deaths which occurred on this very spot. The bronze relief comes closer to the traditional memorial and combines elements from all the other work. For me the bronze is an endpoint to this investigation.