WELLS.- An installation by artist Dd- Deborah Davies- entitled When Things Come Apart is displayed in Palm Court, one of the gardens at Wells Cathedral. Standing over five metres tall, the work is a scaled-up matchstick kit of Lady Liberty in a state of collapse.

Confronted by a monumental torso, visitors to this powerful exhibit realise that the head, with its crown still intact, has crashed into the seating below, and that the torch has been dropped now laying in the grass some distance away from Liberty's outstretched arm. With her timber panels strewn around onlookers feel they are looking at a construction site. The work raises the question: is liberty in decline or is it in a process of re-construction? This dilemma is further echoed by the tombstones surrounding her, providing their own reflection of loss and decay.

When Things Come Apart is one of 28 artworks chosen out of over 200 installation submissions from around the world for this year’s Wells Art Contemporary. It is part of the wider exhibition showing over 100 pieces selected from over 3500 in the category of two-dimensional and sculptural work.

Wells Art Contemporary is one of the highlights of the visual arts calendar, renowned for its remit of choosing works by artists that “stimulate debate, challenge and provoke, pushing the boundaries of the visual arts scene both nationally and internationally.” The installation by artist Dd exemplifies this aim.

The installation coincides with the USA’s decision to remove all troops out of Afghanistan and the final collapse of the western supported government. Is Liberty just for Americans or does the USA owe it to Afghanis too? Is this another step in the decline of global liberty or just part of the ebb and flow of growth and decline.

Throughout history, effigies, statues, and monuments, have been public declarations in their creation and destruction. Attacks on them signalling outrage, turmoil of the times, or ushering in a new order. Most public statues in the Western world are now under scrutiny. Memorable samples include the toppling of the statue of deposed Iraqi President, Saddam Hussein, in 2003 and the removal of the Confederate Generals in the USA. Much more recent is the tearing down of the Edward Colston statue in Bristol and the demands from the campaign group Rhodes Must Fall to remove the statue of Cecil Rhodes from the façade of Oriel College, Oxford.

Made from over 1.5 tonness of construction timber, When Things Come Apart, is custom-built from hundreds of lengths of wood, all meticulously cut, glued and screwed together to form detachable panels.

The installation ends on Sunday 26th September 2021 to coincide with the installation of a new Antony Gormley work on the West Front of the Cathedral.