AN 8.4 metre-high wooden version of the Statue of Liberty is not what you’d expect to see in a quiet Hampshire village. But as lockdown has meant the closure of all art galleries, UCA graduate Deborah Davies (aka Dd) has decided to display her hand-built, 1.3-ton sculpture on her own driveway in Church Crookham.

Entitled When Things Come Apart, the work references the demise of liberty – not just in America, but the world over. What makes it much more than a straightforward replica of a statue is that it is designed to be displayed in a variety of configurations – but always in some state of demise.

In essence the sculpture is a scaled-up version of a matchstick kit, with the matchsticks replaced with construction grade timber.

The sculpture is custom-built from hundreds of lengths of wood, all meticulously cut, glued and screwed together to form detachable panels.

During the past two years, When Things Come Apart has been displayed in various states of collapse in a number of UK art galleries. In one iteration, for instance, part of the torso was displayed on its side with the remaining panels tumbling into the gallery setting.

In another, panels were used to construct a wall or barricade that trailed behind her.

People have targeted statues to express outrage, the turmoil of the times, or to signal in a new order. 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.

When Things Come Apart was built in Farnham while Deborah was studying for an MA in Fine Art at the University For The Creative Arts. The sculpture was the centrepiece of her degree show in 2018.

In its current showing on the artist’s driveway, Liberty is not in a state of collapse but her famous torch is lying in front of her on the ground.

“It seems the light no longer shines through clouds of tear gas,” Deborah said.

As the UK leaves the EU and aligns itself with the USA with respect to trade deals and develops the ‘special relationship’ believed to exist between the two countries, the artist intends to change and further evolve When Things Come Apart so it addresses issues that resonate with both countries.