Statue of Friedrich Engels

The statue of Friedrich Engels stands in Manchester’s Tony Wilson Place, a 3.7-metre concrete figure with arms crossed. It was made in the 1970s for a village in Ukraine and later removed under laws banning Soviet symbols. After lying cut in half in a field, the artist Phil Collins found it and arranged for its move to Manchester. The journey took two years of searching and eight months of talks. It travelled through several European cities before reaching England. Engels lived in Manchester while writing The Condition of the Working Class in England between 1842 and 1844. Collins chose Manchester because of that history. The statue was unveiled at the end of the 2017 Manchester International Festival. A Cyrillic inscription on the pedestal reads ‘F. ENGELS’. The figure’s Soviet origins contrast with its new setting in a modern British plaza. Visitors find the statue on a plain pedestal beside HOME, Manchester’s centre for contemporary art. The figure’s crossed arms and direct gaze dominate the small square. No other monuments share the space, so the statue stands alone. The surrounding area is paved and open, with cafes and cultural venues nearby. The contrast between Engels’s stern expression and the lively arts scene creates an unusual meeting of past and present.