Michael Sandle RA
“Home is where the heart is” goes the expression and it is undoubtedly true. I have lived in several countries which include the UK, France, Italy, Canada, and the IOM of course. I felt at more or less at home in most of them - particularly in France, or to be more specific, Paris even though, like the rest of France, I did not like Parisians all that much. But I did like Paris in the 1960s - that was when I was a very poor art student living up eight flights of stairs in an unheated ‘chambre du bonne’ and living off tinned mackerel. Even though everywhere I looked there was the tricolour flying, and my ability to speak the language was limited, I felt completely at home there. I had the same feelings in Berlin when I was there before the wall came down. I never liked living in Pforzheim all that much though, which was where I had my first teaching job in Germany - this was undoubtedly due to living in a very noisy flat near a busy crossroad - but I was too lazy to move.
After eight years, I then moved to Karlsruhe and found a huge former organ factory to live in and to use as a studio. When that came to an end, I moved to renovated stables in the grounds of a castle, which had studio premises and a flat where I lived with my then wife, though I never felt it was home. Maybe because the Gestapo had used the castle in WW2 and it was a bit creepy, or maybe it was just being married to the wrong woman.
I feel very much at home where I live now in Dalston, London - once described by Vogue Magazine as the trendiest place on the planet. But, if you were to ask me where I really thought of as ‘home,’ it would, without a shadow of doubt, be the Isle of Man. I spent the formative period of my youth here and while there were some moments of quite profound unhappiness, memories of the IOM and its way of life, along with its often haunting beauty, are embedded forever in my psyche.
Many people other than me speak about the tug the Island has on their heartstrings, so I rest my case.
After eight years, I then moved to Karlsruhe and found a huge former organ factory to live in and to use as a studio. When that came to an end, I moved to renovated stables in the grounds of a castle, which had studio premises and a flat where I lived with my then wife, though I never felt it was home. Maybe because the Gestapo had used the castle in WW2 and it was a bit creepy, or maybe it was just being married to the wrong woman.
I feel very much at home where I live now in Dalston, London - once described by Vogue Magazine as the trendiest place on the planet. But, if you were to ask me where I really thought of as ‘home,’ it would, without a shadow of doubt, be the Isle of Man. I spent the formative period of my youth here and while there were some moments of quite profound unhappiness, memories of the IOM and its way of life, along with its often haunting beauty, are embedded forever in my psyche.
Many people other than me speak about the tug the Island has on their heartstrings, so I rest my case.
Germany Calling": ‘Lord Haw-Haw’ remembered
Michael Sandle RA
Aquatint etching on paper
Manx National Heritage Collection
Dimensions 49 cm x 66 cm
‘Germany Calling’ is directly related to a childhood memory during the Second World War, circa 1941 when I was about five years old. I remember very clearly hearing a broadcast – on a Pye ‘wireless-set’ from that period by ‘Lord Haw Haw’ – it began “Germany calling – Germany calling – another British Battleship has been sunk".
The piece, acquired by the Manx Museum and National Trust, was produced in 1976, over thirty years after the conflict it describes. It reflects the pivotal role played by radio broadcasts at the time. ‘Lord Haw-Haw’ (William Joyce) was a Nazi sympathiser who broadcast anti-British propaganda programmes from Germany intended to break British morale. Although he failed, the broadcasts were still considered sinister and frightening. The radio, a symbol of security and a link with the free world, could easily allow the voice of the enemy to infiltrate directly into the sanctuary of the home.
Michael Sandle RA
Aquatint etching on paper
Manx National Heritage Collection
Dimensions 49 cm x 66 cm
‘Germany Calling’ is directly related to a childhood memory during the Second World War, circa 1941 when I was about five years old. I remember very clearly hearing a broadcast – on a Pye ‘wireless-set’ from that period by ‘Lord Haw Haw’ – it began “Germany calling – Germany calling – another British Battleship has been sunk".
The piece, acquired by the Manx Museum and National Trust, was produced in 1976, over thirty years after the conflict it describes. It reflects the pivotal role played by radio broadcasts at the time. ‘Lord Haw-Haw’ (William Joyce) was a Nazi sympathiser who broadcast anti-British propaganda programmes from Germany intended to break British morale. Although he failed, the broadcasts were still considered sinister and frightening. The radio, a symbol of security and a link with the free world, could easily allow the voice of the enemy to infiltrate directly into the sanctuary of the home.
Public Sculptures by Michael sandle on the Isle of Man
Lifeboat Memorial - Dougla Promenade
The Viking - Port Erin Arts Centre