Broken Chair Sculpture

Broken Chair is a monumental wooden sculpture by the Swiss artist Daniel Berset, which was constructed by the carpenter Louis Genève. It consists of 5.5 tons of wood and is 12 meters high. It shows a huge chair with a broken leg and stands opposite the Palace of Nations in Geneva. Source: WikipediaThe chair is a call to the international community to sign the Landmine Convention, support the victims and evacuate the affected areas. Source: handicap-international.ch/de/die-geschichte-von-dem-broken-chair

Broken Chair is an original idea and project of Paul Vermeulen, co-founder and director of Handicap International Switzerland.[2] In October 1996, he commissioned the 10 meters high chair, with a torn-off leg, to be installed on the Place des Nations,[2] motivated to try to get as many nations to sign Ottawa Treaty on landmines in December 1997. The sculpture was erected by Handicap International in front of the main entrance to the Palace of Nations in Geneva on the 18th of August 1997, where it was intended to remain for three months, until the signing of the Ottawa Treaty in December 1997 in Ottawa.[5] Following ratification by 40 countries, the Treaty became effective as an instrument of international law on 1 March 1999.The failure of many countries to sign the Treaty and the strong public support for the sculpture caused it to be left in place until 2005, when it was removed to allow extensive remodeling of the Place des Nations. After completion of the work, it was reinstalled in the same place in front of the United Nations Office at Geneva on 26 February 2007.[5]The reinstallation of Broken Chair in February 2007 was officially dedicated by Handicap International to support the signature of an international treaty on a ban on cluster munitions, which was signed in Oslo in December 2008.The work was the property of the sculptor until 2004, when he transferred ownership to Handicap International. (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broken_Chair)

Timber construction as a monument and a piece of history