by Rigorous Intuition » Sun May 22, 2005 9:35 am
<!--EZCODE IMAGE START--><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v226/JeffWells/sculpture01.jpg"/><!--EZCODE IMAGE END--><br><br><!--EZCODE IMAGE START--><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v226/JeffWells/sculpture02.jpg"/><!--EZCODE IMAGE END--><br><br><!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>Cast in shadows: Monument to survivors of sex abuse crumbling without funds</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--><br><br>By DEBBIE O'ROURKE, Now Magazine, Toronto, May 19-25<br><br>For five years, the child abuse Survivors Monument has stood in a donated studio waiting to be cast in bronze. Eighteen-year-old Zachary Irving recently raised the alarm that at the end of May the sculpture created by 300 child abuse survivors and supporters could be sliced up and placed in storage. <br><br>...<br><br>Inspired by the Vietnam War Memorial, Michael Irving equates the experience of child abuse to life in war. Encountering him as a fellow community artist in 1993, I didn't understand how his worthy idea could be accomplished or how it would be something anyone could bear to look at. <br><br>But Irving found a way. In workshops held across the country, he cast the hands of survivors in wax so that, even if they couldn't reveal their names, their identities would be represented. He taught them to sculpt so they could surround their handprints with words and images. <br><br>I was part of the crew that put the monument together in 2000 with the help of a Millennium grant. We draped two 12-foot-high figures with quilts flowing from their outstretched arms. Each square is a journey, a kaleidoscope of imagery. There are guardian dragons, chains, walls, eyes, mouths, tears, cascading bells and teddy bears, angels fluttering like butterflies. Mike Irving was prostituted as a child, and he filled his square with tiny toys, the treasures of a lost childhood. <br><br>My job was to make rubber moulds of the survivors' artworks and cast them in wax. It was an exciting time: musicians played on volunteer nights, enthusiasts arranged receptions and tours to attract the wealthy, and those who'd created squares visited as we worked. <br><br>Among the monument volunteers were Imants Kruze and Mara Kruze, parents of Martin Kruze, who first revealed the sexual abuse that occurred at Maple Leaf Gardens. He committed suicide after his abuser was sentenced to only two years in jail. At the family's request, a cast was taken of his hand in the funeral home. <br><br>Martin Kruze's father believes that the Survivor Monument could perform vital services by assisting in healing, counselling vigilance and even helping child victims to disclose. "Look how long that was happening to Martin," says Kruze, "and we never knew. A monument like this in a public place could help kids realize that they're not alone, so they could reach out for help. If it helps even one kid, it's all worthwhile." <br><br>...<br><br>Irving's strength makes it easy to forget that he's also a survivor and that every delay is also a delay in his own resolution. It's a drain on his family, which is maxed out and multiple-mortgaged. The family has abandoned hope of recouping its losses, but the monument's completion will enable them to move on. <br><br>It's time for the rest of the city to get on side and, in Zac Irving's words, "get the damn thing finished." <br><br><!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://www.nowtoronto.com/issues/2005-05-19/news_feature.php" target="top">www.nowtoronto.com/issues/2005-05-19/news_feature.php</a><!--EZCODE LINK END--><br> <p></p><i></i>
