Fers, Contemporary sculpture in 17th arrondissement of Paris, France
Fers is a rust-brown iron sculpture made of two circular slave fetters, each 5 metres high and weighing 5 tonnes. One fetter is open, with a few chain links attached to the ground; the other is closed, its chain rising toward the sky. The work stands on grass in the Jardin Solitude on Place du Général-Catroux.
Fers was commissioned by the city of Paris to honour Thomas Alexandre Dumas and inaugurated in 2009. The work by Driss Sans-Arcidet, born in 1960 and also known as Musée Khômbol, marks the bicentenary year of the general's death. It stands in the Jardin Solitude on Place du Général-Catroux, in the 17th arrondissement.
The two fers carry opposed meanings: the open one, its chain lying on the ground, stands for Dumas's birth as the son of a slave; the closed one, its chain rising skyward, for his career as a general under Napoleon I. The title simply means "irons", the shackles of enslavement.
The sculpture sits in a public garden and remains freely accessible throughout the year. Its location on Place du Général-Catroux makes it easy to find and serves as a good landmark when exploring the neighborhood.
The two fers are identical in size: each stands 5 metres tall and weighs 5 tonnes. One is open with a few chain links fixed to the ground, the other closed with its chain rising skyward. Together they mark Dumas's birth as a slave's son and his rank as a general under Napoleon I.
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