'George Orwell' by Martin Jennings
Martin Jennings makes portrait sculptures and public statues and has been commissioned by the National Portrait Gallery, St Paul’s Cathedral, the University of Oxford and many other national institutions. His subjects include prominent figures from the worlds of politics, the military, royalty, academia, literature, industry, medicine and the law.
This larger-than-lifesize sculpture of George Orwell for the exterior of BBC Broadcasting House in London was erected in 2017 and includes a quotation from the author which has been carved into the building. The quote reads “If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear” from the proposed preface to Animal Farm and can be seen as a rallying cry for the idea of free speech in an open society. The sculpture stands at 8 ft high and is made of bronze. The statue was commissioned and paid for by the George Orwell Memorial Fund.
In a blog written for the BBC’s website, Martin Jennings said of his piece “I’ve wanted to express Orwell and candid and forthright, a pointed and interrogative figure forcefully enquiring of each of us whether we too will take his stand on behalf of intellectual liberty and truth”.