Bill Shaw, Plague Doctor, 2020

Bill Shaw, Plague Doctor, 2020

Sculpture

2020

Artist Statement

For years I have been planning to sculpt a medieval “Plague Doctor”.It is a fascinating image from the times of the European “Black Death Epidemics” that has long haunted me. Dr. Dalton’s timely initiative to curate the exhibition “ALONE” gave me the urgent impetus to create this piece of sculpture.

Plague Doctors were paid by cities to provide treatment to plague-stricken people. Putridair was generally accepted as the cause of the Black Death or Plague. The design of the beaked mask and flowing robe depicted by my sculpture are attributed to Dr. Charles de Lorme, physician to King Louis XIII of France. To filter out putrid air, the beak was stuffed with herbs like mint leaves, juniper berries, and rose petals. Plague Doctors worked and existed alone. They acquired a reputation for terrifying people and collecting money from the dead and dying. As they were often the last thing plague victims saw when they died, their image became known as a harbinger of death. 

I have often likened the practice of sculpture to “self-imposed isolation”.Carving stone or wood, grinding metal, or working with resin requires eye, hearing, and respiratory protection. Wearing safety goggles, earplugs, and a respirator renders one isolated and alone. For me, sculpting and Covid-19 go well together. My sculpture “Plague Doctor” was conceived and executed, ALONE, just as Plague Doctors worked, ALONE

Bill Shaw

copyright, Bill Shaw

sculpture