The Barbados National Heroes Square Monument design celebrates the Barbadian Family and our National Heroes.
In 2022, the Government of Barbados invited submissions to design a Monument in National Heroes Square. The design brief called for a monument, “Commemorating the Journey of the Family”, in Barbados.
The following design of the “Monument to The Barbadian Family” in National Heroes Square is our winning submission in the national competition.
The name of our submission for the National Heroes Square Monument proposal for Barbados is “We Loyal Sons And Daughters All”.
It is the design of Vincent Jones and Hugh Holder.
Context and Overview
National Heroes Square has a long history. It is a significant part of our capital city and is one of the most identifiable landmarks of Bridgetown.
It has been the home to many events and celebrations throughout its history.
However, National Heroes Square, formerly Trafalgar Square, also has a dark past.
They sold the enslaved people entering our shores to various plantations not far from this location.
It was also the location of The Cage, where runaway slaves were imprisoned until their owners could retrieve them.
In addition, the statue of Lord Admiral Horatio Nelson occupied the square for over two centuries. This statue was itself a reminder of our oppressive, colonial past.
In 1999, the square’s name became National Heroes Square. It became the single place to commemorate all of our National Heroes.
Today, besides acknowledging our National Heroes, this competition calls us to commemorate The Barbadian Family. Their struggle, toil and resilience make them the undeniable heroes of our society.
The brief of the design competitions states that we are to create a proposal for
“…the installation of a monument in National Heroes Square to commemorate the Barbadian Family as the ultimate national hero from which all our national heroes were born and raised”.
The Monument to The Barbadian Family, “We Loyal Sons And Daughters All”, follows the Barbadian Family’s journey, past and present. It recognises them as the heroic beacons of our nation from which all National Heroes came.
Design Concept
Ancestral Barbadian Families pulled apart the shackles and chains of their oppressive society. These heroic families opened the way for the Modern Barbadian Family to rise. From them, our National Heroes came into existence.
Shackles
Poem by Hugh Holder
They shackled our feet so that we could not run. But they could not shackle our advocacy or our destination; they could not shackle our journey; they could not shackle our destiny.
They shackled our wrists so that we could not fight. But they could not shackle our courage, our actions or our talents. They could not shackle our industry.
They shackled our necks so that they could control us. But they could not shackle our vision, our mindsets. They could not shackle our voices.
Our ancestors fought to break those shackles apart.
It is the Barbadian Family and our communities that are the true champions of our society. Grannies and grand-dads, mummies and daddies, uncles and aunties. They worked hard to ensure those shackles stayed open. Making a way for our present and future heroes to rise.
Never again will those shackles bind us from our freedom.
Design Description For National Heroes Square Monument
The design of the National Heroes Square Monument focuses on three key areas.
- The History of Slavery and Oppression
- The Endurance and Resilience of the Barbadian Family
- The Family’s Role in Producing Our National Heroes
The National Heroes Square Monument tells the story of the Barbadian Family throughout its four-hundred-year journey. It reflects the struggle and commitment of the Ancestral Family, who fought for two hundred years. In addition, it shows the rise and life given to the Modern Family.
Broken Shackles and Ancestral Family
Shackles have long been a symbol that represents slavery and oppression.
Lord Nelson’s Statue, which occupied the square for two hundred years, was also a symbol that reminded us of oppression. The Barbadians who funded the statue were slave-owning planters and merchants. They erected his statue to celebrate his heroism and impact on their society and interests.
Today, instead of our square celebrating Lord Nelson or the people who fought to maintain slavery, we are now celebrating the people who fought to end it.
In our design, we chose to celebrate our Ancestral Barbadian Families who fought to free us from the chains and shackles. This depiction is represented in the “Broken Shackles and Ancestral Family Sculptures” on both ends of the Monument.
The Ancestral Family Sculpture shows three figures. Two are taller than the third one in the middle and evoke a sense of the traditional nuclear family. However, this sculpture is abstract and open to different interpretations.
The Shackles are standing tall over our Ancestral Families. This representation indicates the overpowering slave system of that day.
However, we see our Ancestral Families pulling open the shackles. They struggled and fought to break open the shackles and chains of their oppressive society. Hence, these Shackles are open and pulled apart. Therefore, they no longer have a hold on our Modern Barbadian Family and society.
Words from our National Anthem, “Inspired, Exulting, Free,” are on the top of the Shackles.
These words remind every Barbadian of the freedom we enjoy today and the opportunities it affords us.
In addition, this part of our national anthem speaks to the hope of our people and how we should engage our future. It encourages us to look towards the growth of our nation.
Also, a representation of a chain that held those Shackles together is in a paving pattern on the ground. This chain paving pattern is broken in the middle by the Modern Family Statue.
The Ancestral Family made a clear way for our Modern Family to rise and thrive by freeing us from those shackles and chains.
Modern Family Statue
The central statue represents the Modern Barbadian Family. It is in the middle of the opened shackles and broken chain.
This statue shows a collection of people emerging as one unit. Each form has different characteristics that can be associated with various family members. Features include tall or short, square or curvy, upright or bent. These can be related to parents, children, grandparents and other extended family members.
In addition, individual Barbadian Families have many faces and take different forms. Hence, the Modern Family Statue has a faceless, abstract form. This representation gives us, as individuals, the opportunity to mentally imprint the identity of our families on the statue every time we visit the National Heroes Square Monument.
The base of the Modern Family Statue elevates the forms. In addition, this base is rounded and shaped like a seed partially in the ground. Members of the Modern Family are sprouting out of the seed-shaped base.
Hence, the form of the base illustrates that the Ancestral Families planted the seed from which the Modern Barbadian Family could sprout and grow.
There is also a band around the base with the words “We loyal sons and daughters all”. This phrase is the first line in the chorus of the Barbados National Anthem. Barbadians strongly identify with these words, as they show us that we are all children of this great nation and, hence, one family. It reminds us of our bond as a people and community.
In addition to these words, the band also carries the Adinkra symbol, “Nkonsonkonson”. This symbol represents the bond a family or community has for each other. Two chain links represent the symbol.
Incidentally, the chain links of the Nkonsonkonson align with the broken chain link pattern on the ground. Hence, one set of chains represents those that once bound us in slavery and oppression, while the chain links of the Nkonsonkonson bind us as a family and community.
The Modern Family Statue is also the tallest element of the Monument. It rises over the Shackles. This shows the endurance and resilience of the Modern Family to rise above its dark and oppressive past.
The Family is the “underlying and undeniable hero” of our Barbadian society. Because of them, all National Heroes were born and raised.
Hero Steles
Around the Modern Family Statue are the “Hero Steles”.
A stele is a vertical slab with images, text or decoration carved, cut or painted on it.
The National Heroes Square Monument provides a single place to celebrate all of our National Heroes. Currently, monuments and commemorations to our National Heroes are all over the country. This space allows us to celebrate all of them in one place. Having them in the centre of National Heroes Square gives the thousands of Barbadians who pass by every day the opportunity to reflect on and even aspire to be like them.
Each of our eleven National Heroes has a stele with an image of their face and a description of their achievements. This image and description is on one side of the stele.
The other side of the stele is left free and can accommodate plates of future National Heroes.
The Hero Steles occur between the Broken Shackles and around the Modern Family Statue.
This arrangement shows that our National Heroes came from the Barbadian Family. They also exist because of the space between the Broken Shackles made by the Ancestral Family.
These Hero Steles are randomly placed. This positioning allows us to add more steles for future National Heroes without disrupting a set order or pattern.
Materials and Installation Of National Heroes Square Monument
The material selections aim to create durable and low-maintenance entities.
Structure and Cladding
The main structural freestanding elements are precast concrete. These include the Broken Shackles, Ancestral Family Sculptures, Modern Family Statue and Hero Steles.
However, sub-structural elements are in-situ reinforced concrete.
We are proposing a basalt fibre-reinforced polymer rebar which is resistant to corrosion.
The metal cladding of the Broken Shackles, Hero Steles and signage is Corten steel. This material is a weathering steel. Therefore, it does not need a finish coating like paint. The outer surface of the steel oxidises without compromising its structural integrity. In months, Corten steel turns into a beautiful rust colour.
We chose Corten steel not only for its durability and low maintenance but also for its rust colour finish.
The rusted metal evokes a sense of age, history and legacy.
Text and artwork are laser cut into the Corten steel panels.
In addition, the colour of the Corten steel can wash off and cause staining during rainfall. As such, we created permeable areas around where there is this steel.
Ground and Pavements
Around the Broken Shackles and Ancestral Family are concrete grass paver blocks.
At the base of the Hero Steles and signage are depressed areas with small limestone chips.
There is a planter around the base of the Modern Family Statue. This planter also prevents persons from readily going onto the statue.
Pavements combine reinforced concrete with an exposed aggregate finish and coloured concrete pavers.
The concrete sidewalks have joints that radiate from the Family Statue in the Monument’s centre. This is symbolic and reminds us that we all emanate from the Barbadian Family, wherever we are in the country or the world.
The area with the interlocking concrete pavers provides the opportunity for future Hero Steles. This addition can occur by removing the pavers, preparing the foundations and installing the new Hero Stele. You can then put the interlocking pavers back into place around the new stele.
Lighting and Landscaping
Lighting is to be LED light fixtures. They include uplighting, floodlighting and street light posts.
Landscaping incorporates plants that are suited to our climate. They should require little maintenance, including irrigation and pruning.
The proposed development of the Monument also incorporates identifiable signage for National Heroes Square. This is currently lacking from the Square.
Interaction and Experience With the National Heroes Square Monument
As mentioned, National Heroes Square is a significant landmark of Bridgetown.
Therefore, the National Heroes Square Monument seeks to encourage interaction at various levels.
From a distance, the scale of the Modern Family Statue rising from the Square attracts attention.
As you get closer, your attention is drawn to the struggle of the Ancestral Family, pulling apart the Broken Shackles. Persons walking or driving in and out of Bridgetown will see these symbols representing the journey of the Barbadian Family.
Once inside the Square, you experience and interact with the Hero Steles. You see images of the National Heroes and learn more about their service to our country.
QR codes are to be located on each stele and other locations of the Monument and Square. Scanning these QR codes with your smartphone will link you to websites. We locate more information in the form of text, images and videos about the history of each National Hero and the Square.
There is also a bench under shady trees to sit and reflect.
Concrete bollards are added around the monument to offer partial protection from vehicles driving off the road. These should allow persons to feel safer and create a sense of an edge to the area.
We used bollards so you could still move around them without infringing on the monument.
In addition, four large potted plants are located along the edge of the National Heroes Square Monument to create additional greenery. The trees help create a soft buffer between the space and the street.
These trees are closer to the elements of the monument than the other trees shown. However, having them in pots helps prevent their roots from disturbing the pavement, pavers and other installations of the monument in those locations.
Impact Of National Heroes Square Monument
We hope the National Heroes Square Monument can help begin conversations about topics we have long avoided and encourage more public discussion.
As we as a people explore more dialogue about topics around the transatlantic slave trade, chattel slavery and reparatory justice, we believe that the monument can act as a symbol to bring more awareness to our slave history.
The design acknowledges that we have a history of slavery. However, we do not dwell on the oppression by the colonisers. Instead, we celebrate the victorious struggles of our ancestors, families and National Heroes.
By creating the design of this monument, we hope it becomes a symbol of our heritage that aids with the recovery from our slave past and inspires us towards excellence.
Conclusion
The National Heroes Square Monument design aims to inspire Barbadians at home and abroad.
We sought to create a design that is not too abstract and requires explanation to understand its meaning. However, we did not want it to be so literal that Barbadians could not extract their own interpretations from it or imprint themselves in it.
The Barbados National Heroes Square Monument design, “We Loyal Sons And Daughters All”, tells the heroic story of the Barbadian Family. Their past and present. In addition, it inspires us to create our future as a Family.
“Upward and onward we shall go, Inspired, Exulting, Free, and greater will our nation grow in strength and unity.”
Designed by:
Vincent Jones (LinkedIn)
Hugh Holder
