Friedrich Engels' beard inspires climbing sculpture

The "magnificent" beard of socialist thinker Friedrich Engels has inspired a climbing wall sculpture in Salford. The 16ft (5m) beard statue - a "symbol of wisdom and learning", to be produced by arts company Engine, will stand on the University of Salford's campus.

Engels, who wrote The Communist Manifesto with Karl Marx, lived in the area from the 1840s onwards. The sculpture will depict the nose and whiskers of the father of Marxist theory and be situated on the university's Peel Park campus in 2016, It features a climbing wall at the front, stairs to the rear and a viewing platform at the top, from which climbers can admire the view across Salford.



Engine's Jai Redman said the work used Engels' "signature magnificent beard as a symbol of wisdom and learning", while the climbing aspect came from a desire to make it an "interactive piece". "Engels' Beard is a metaphor for how it is an effort and a struggle to pull ourselves out of ignorance [and] a direct representation of how all philosophers 'stand on the shoulders of giants'."

He added that Engels had been chosen as "a great socialist, thinker and a philosopher, a local historical figure and a champion of the working classes", who dealt with issues still "alive and real" today. "There is a huge issue in Salford and Manchester, where wage inequality and mass poverty is being seen on levels not experienced here since Engels' time."