And There Was Brian

An audio monument to Brian Haw

2018 – present

Go to Parliament Square.

Press ‘Play’.

Image of peace campaigner Brian Haw in Parliament Square — *‘And There Was Brian’* - a site-specific audio monument to Brian Haw.

And There Was Brian is an audio monument to peace campaigner Brian Haw. It is sited 24/7 in Parliament Square, where Brian protested for ten years against the Iraq War and other military campaigns.

To activate the monument, go to the square, and stand across the road from the Houses of Parliament. You will need a smartphone with its GPS function turned on.

Once in Parliament Square Garden, the ‘Play’ button on the monument’s website will become active on your phone. After pressing ‘Play’, you can move around the square as much as you like. The audio runs for 36 minutes.

And There Was Brian tells the story of Brian’s protest through the account of his longest-serving supporter, actor Michael Culver. It documents Michael and his wife Amanda Ward’s visit to the store of the Museum of London where hundreds of objects from Brian’s protest are kept. Brian's family gave the material to the museum in 2012, a year after he died from lung cancer.

Michael Culver (centre) and Amanda Ward (far left) visit the store of the Museum of London in 2017. Michael made many of the banners, placards, and t-shirts held by the museum as part of the Brian Haw collection. Image: Simon Roberts

Brian Haw (centre) stands with Michael Culver (right) in Parliament Square on Remembrance Sunday in 2009. Image: Richard Baker

Comments on ‘And There Was Brian’:

Theatre director and artist Mark Teh on the 'Social Making' podcast:

"[And There Is Brian] is a 36-minute recording where so much of what we talked about today – what are the laws, invisible kind of lines that govern, literally, a strip of land? ... how does this change over time? ... how do we decolonize ways that we think about space, land, property? – is really embedded in this project. And that's a project I return back to ... "

Filmmaker Fred Scott:

"I finally made it to Parliament Square and wanted to send a huge congratulations. I was really so moved by 'And There Was Brian' - and found it an incredibly inspiring record of Brian’s story."

Curator Dr Stefania Donini:

"Something about the act of listening in this 'singular plural' mode felt very relevant. The mix of voices in the audio monument made me think a lot about the different spaces/times and the bodies involved - the museum's store room, the inside of the Houses of Parliament, the outside of the square, Brian Haw's memories, Westminster Abbey and the church where Brian's father died... and the images of war, children dying, and children running around us in the square. I thought those spatial synchronicities worked for me... Brian's speech is so simple yet poignant. I left the square thinking that the act of 'having to be there with your body' in order to listen to those voices, is a crucial aspect that makes the monument."

Archivist Dr Althea Greenan, Women's Art Library, Goldsmiths:

"I thought it was brilliant and immediately thought it would make a powerful radio feature, and then thought no because of the importance that it remains pinned to the spot of the protest camp."

Listen to a clip of ‘And There Was Brian’:

To listen to a short clip from the monument, play the August 2023 edition of The Multibody Records Show on Noods Radio. Brian can be heard from 5 minutes into the programme.

Credits

Guy Atkins
Artist

Michael Culver
Actor, peace activist

Amanda Ward
Sculptor, peace activist

Nina Garthwaite
Audio producer

James Bulley
Sound artist

Vyki Sparkes, Catherine Nightingale, Jen Kavanagh, Alex Werner, Cathy Ross
Staff at the Museum of London

Patrick Fry
Graphic designer

Greg White
Web programmer

Simon Roberts
Photographer

James Sui
Web designer

Simon Spencer-Hyde
Actor