Anxious Silence

Checkendon Sculpture – The Nuba Embrace

Posted February 16th, 2008 11:48 by Bob

A while back Scott discovered a weird, slightly creepy and incredibly intriguing sculpture by a run down barn in the middle of a field somewhere between Henley and Reading. He took me along to see it a couple of times and we tookl a few photos. We did a bit of research (well googling) into it but couldn’t find any information on it or where it came from. I considered knocking on the door of the nearby farmhouse but chickened out. It didn’t help that the location reminded me of far too many horror films, a half collapsed barn and a yard full of rusted cars.

Scott, being more organised than myself, uploaded his photos to Google Earth and recently someone commented on one of them with an explanation of the sculpture:

“The Nuba Embrace” Several people have asked about the sculpture that has appeared by Copyhold Barn; it is called “The Nuba Embrace” and is by John Buckley. John created the sculpture on his return from a visit to the Nuba Mountains in central Sudan in 2000- 2001 where he was a guest of the Nuba Rehabilitation, Relief and Development Organisation (N.R.R.D.O.) during the time of the genocide. He witnessed first hand a mass attempt to wipe out a cultural identity through ethnic cleansing, slavery and fierce attacks on the traditional homelands. More recently there has been a fragile cease fire in the Nuba Mountains (the same agreement that is currently barely holding in Darfur) and when John returned to the region in January this year he says that, despite the suffering, he experienced a sense of resistance living in everyone he met. John finds it difficult to talk about his work (like most artists) but hopes that the sculpture asks the question “What is the future for the Nuba people?” and reminds us that in this ever-shrinking world we are never far away from what is happening in places such as the Nuba Mountains.

So, that’s good to know. We’re not sure if this is the final piece or if it’s a test piece for a final piece resting elsewhere. It seems to get cleaned up and repainted on occasion (although this may be our imaginations/the changing light), it’s not signposted in any way and unless you are looking for it you are unlikely to stumble across it.

Scott’s LJ Post

The Nuba Embrace - Photo by Scott Wylie
Photo on Scott’s website

My pics of it on Flickr (as ever, lacking any sort of editing due to lack of hours)

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After far more faffing about that should be necessary my new camera (Nikon D40x) is finally with me and usable, we’re off to Worthing this afternoon so will attempt to get practice in.

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11 Responses to “Checkendon Sculpture – The Nuba Embrace”

  1. February 21st, 2008 at 11:14 am

    jEN Did utter:

    Wow! Thank you for the information. I must get out and see this work sometime.

  2. May 10th, 2008 at 6:21 am

    Charles Crawcour Did utter:

    I came across this exciting sculpture quite by chance on a bike ride in June 2007. As of today (10.05.08) I know it’s by John Buckley and it’s called Nuba Embrace. But why is it where it is? Maybe the sculptor lives in the area?

  3. May 11th, 2008 at 7:31 pm

    Bob Did utter:

    Not a clue, I’d love to know though.

  4. July 3rd, 2008 at 7:46 pm

    Syd Did utter:

    It is where it is because the people who commissioned it decided they didn’t want it and as John had nowhere else to put it he asked a friend if he would store it on his land until he was able to find a permanent home for it. It is a talking point for many people and certainly stirred up many far-fetched theories when it first arrived. The illusion of cleaning/painting is a trick of the light. We are luck to have this sculpture long may it look down on our area of outstanding beauty.

  5. July 16th, 2008 at 11:04 am

    Martine Saint Germain Did utter:

    Hi,
    i love your pictures of the Nuba. I have just finished John’s website. It has more pictures if you want to have a look.
    Take care
    Martine
    John’s website:
    http://www.johnbuckleysculptor.co.uk/

  6. July 25th, 2008 at 9:03 am

    Bob Did utter:

    Thanks Martine, that’s excellent.

  7. September 28th, 2009 at 5:21 pm

    Mike Did utter:

    Hi,

    I cycled past that a couple of days ago. It is the spookiest sight I’ve ever seen! It does look they’ve landed from another planet and will suddenly stand up and come for you. Really glad I know the history behind it though. Thanks for posting that (maybe it should have a sign next to it to help people understand what it means?).

    Mike.

  8. September 29th, 2009 at 5:29 pm

    Bob Did utter:

    I quite like the weirdness of it just sitting in a field, makes it a bit more imposing in some ways. Went to have another look at it the other day myself but couldn’t remember how to get there and had left sat-nav at home.

  9. April 7th, 2010 at 3:07 pm

    Lilly Did utter:

    Thanks for these beautiful photos. I spent my childhood in the area but can you tell me whereabouts Copyhold Farm is exactly ?

    Thanks again

  10. April 9th, 2010 at 12:21 am

    Bob Did utter:

    Hi Lilly, It’s just about the centre of this map:

    http://snurl.com/vc7t1

  11. April 9th, 2010 at 12:21 am

    Bob Did utter:

    (p.s. thanks for your comments).

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