A renowned art historian, Ken Scarlett is widely regarded as one of the leading authorities on Australian sculpture as well as producing his own work. He says of his sculpture Monument to a Segregationist that it was based on a newspaper photograph of Senator George Wallace, the extreme right-wing American politician who was vigorously opposing the integration of black and white students in the schools. We have innumerable monuments to kings, queens, politicians and military leaders – all commendable – but I thought it was appropriate to perpetuate the memory of a real bastard. I hoped the over-large head (similar to some of the colossal heads of Roman emperors) would convey the authoritarian arrogance and brutality of this reactionary politician. It was produced at a time in my career when a number of works had a strong political message.
