Icarus

My quest to capture more of Christchurch's public art and sculpture continues, this time heading Northwest and out towards the airport.

This wonderful memorial commemorates those brave airmen that paid the ultimate sacrifice in the Second World War. I'd wager it's probably one of the least visited memorials in the city, despite being one that probably sees the most traffic passing it by at it's location near the Memorial Ave roundabout.

The memorial is hewn from a wonderfully tactile stone, the relief of Icarus plummeting with broken wings and anguished face is both powerful and moving.

The inscription is beautiful yet brief:

DEDICATION.
To those who flew and fell
1939-1945

A tribute to the dead.
A memory to the living
An inspiration to posterity.