Artist Kara Walker has transformed a decommissioned monument of Confederate General Stonewall Jackson into a new, grotesque sculpture titled "Unmanned Drone" (2023). After curator Hamza Walker secured the bronze statue from Charlottesville, Virginia, the artist reconfigured its parts at a New York foundry to create a 12-foot horse-man hybrid that subverts traditional heroic iconography. The work is currently the centerpiece of the "Monuments" exhibition at the Brick in Los Angeles, co-presented by MOCA LA.
This project serves as a powerful intervention in the ongoing national debate over Confederate monuments and the legacy of the American Civil War. By physically dismantling and reassembling the bronze into a monstrous form, Walker prevents the possibility of the monument ever being restored to its original state. The work challenges the persistent myths of the Confederacy and insists on a visual language that prioritizes historical horror over romanticized heroism.