General Howe emailed me recently about his work, and I think it’s something well worth checking out. My friend and I glued some toy soldiers to the street last year, but we just did it for fun. I like the fact that General Howe actually has a point to his work. Here’s what he said:

For just about two years now I have been spreading the streets of Brooklyn with British colonial toy soldiers in locations where Americans and British fought in the Battle of Brooklyn.  The Commanding General of the British was General Howe, which I have taken as my street art identity.

The research and experiences of doing this work has led me to my most recent project, Remains of Wallabout Bay.  I have been making linoleum cut images of bones and remains of dead American soldiers from the Revolutionary war.  The British captured thousands of American soldiers and would keep them on prison ships docked in Wallabout Bay a.k.a. Brooklyn Navy Yard.  When these unfortunate soldiers would die, their bodies were discarded over the side of the ship, I imagine in similar fashion to trash and waste that is discarded in this same area today.

This work stemmed from having so many different emotions about the U.S. being in Afghanistan and Iraq.  My thoughts kept bringing me back to past wars we’ve been involved in and thinking of the question, what would we do if foreign armies invaded and occupied our own country?

This work has been fun and meaningful and I look foreword to making work on the street for years to come.

And here’s some of his work…

Remains of Wallabout Bay

General Howe and UFO

Remains of Wallabout Bay

Check out more at General Howe’s flickr

Related posts:

1. A Manhattan Lower East Side Lot Transformed into an Outdoor Gallery
2. New work by Phlegm
3. Dave the Chimp on the Berlin Wall