Michael Sandle, born (1936) and brought up on the Isle of Man, is best known as a sculptor but spent most of his time whilst a student at the Slade in the etching and lithography studios. In a statement made in 1988 he averred that printmaking was a seminal activity for him, which significantly affected his development as an artist, particularly the way he continued to draw, and he confessed to sometimes having a longing to make prints.

In the early 1970s Sandle made several screenprints where the contrast between black ink and silvered ground made for a particularly harsh effect, well suited to his subject matter which often addressed brutality and violence. Much of his work has a memorial theme, looking back to various periods of intense international and global conflict. Although this image does not directly refer to such, the nature of its composition and execution suggest a monument to brute power.

The title of this image suggests it might be a study for a sculpture but at the same time suggests the architecture of the Third Reich in its stripped-down pillars and de-humanised scale.

After a period of working in the USA and Canada, where the image of Mickey Mouse became a kind of metaphor for American military aggression in his work, Sandle has spent much of his professional life in Germany at the Academy of Art at Karlsruhe. His work addresses the brutality of war, and his representation of weaponry, machinery and other accuoutrements has been influenced by the early 20th-century Italian Futuritst artists. Much of his work has a memorial theme, looking back to various periods of intense international and global conflict.