Would the destruction or removal of Eric Gill’s sculpture Prospero and Ariel on the facade of the BBC’s Broadcasting House end incestuous abuse? This is the question for anyone who thinks works of art by evil people can be evil in themselves.
In January 2022 the early 1930s sculpture that symbolises the spirits of the air was attacked by protesters as a “paedophile” artwork. Now, a bit belatedly, the BBC is going to restore and preserve it. It’s right to do so. For the answer to the opening question is obvious: it would make no difference to human suffering at all if instead of mending Gill’s art, the Beeb smashed it and threw the chunks in a skip. No child would be saved. No abuser would act any differently.
