A site historically connected to pilgrimages to the holy shrines, Bob created his own shrine to humanity, thus the concrete slab inside the tower refered to three of his humanist heroes, Darwin, Orwell and Joe Strummer, encouraging us to think of the relevance and strength of belief rather than what is being believed. The artist's name Bob Smith is an anybody's name. His idea is that people can make their own art and anybody can be an artist. Thus he gave the audience the opportunity to create their own artwork by taking rubbings of the concrete slab or the graffiti carved into the interior stone work of the tower.

The tower is the remains of the Preceptory of the Knights Templars, founded in C.115060. The Knights Templars, a half monk, half military order, were established to protect the first Holy Christian Shrines in Jerusalem and their pilgrims. 'Preceptories', major estate-centres were set up around Europe to earn money for the Shrines. The Knights Templars lived in strict poverty, chastity and obedience yet ran a wealthy and powerful order.
A Knight was in charge of the preceptory and was perhaps the highest medieval ideal, this conflict between religion and military being unrecognised.
BACK |