Study for a Monument
- Artist: Abbas Akhavan
- Date: 2022
- Medium: Bronze and cotton sheets
- Dimensions: Overall display dimensions variable
- Museum: Tate Modern
- Collection record: Tate Modern website
Listen to the free audio guide
About this artwork
This is the “Study for a Monument” by Abbas Akhavan. The work is a sculptural installation where bronze cast elements are arranged on plain cotton sheets that lie flat on the gallery floor. Each bronze figure is a plant—tall enough to reach human scale—taken from species that once grew between the Tigris and Euphrates. Akhavan’s choice of bronze is deliberate; it links the ancient metallurgy of Mesopotamian weapons with the modern act of erecting monuments, and it highlights how the material’s character has shifted over time.
The artist researched endangered flora from that region, affected by wars from 1980 to 2003, and turned each plant into a unique sculpture. The process starts with plasticine models, then wax, plaster, and finally bronze casting in a foundry in Istanbul—an important personal refuge for Akhavan during the Iran‑Iraq war.
By placing these bronze “monuments” on cotton sheets on the floor, Akhavan flips the usual vertical, pedestal‑based monument form. He calls it an anti‑monument, using plant life to memorialise the environmental damage caused by human conflict, and to broaden the idea of what gets remembered in public spaces.
See it in person
Study for a Monument is in the collection of Tate Modern on Bankside, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
