ALL is set for the official unveiling of the monument dedicated to the Caribbean nationals who sailed aboard the Empire Windrush vessel in 1948 to England, which will be mounted in the historic Waterloo Station in London.

Jamaican sculptor Basil Watson won the commission to create the monument. He told the Jamaica Observer that he is already in the United Kingdom for Wednesday’s celebration.

“Everything is set. I signed off on the monument today and everything is complete and should be installed on the weekend. I am definitely pleased with how the monument turned out. It has even exceeded my own expectations and turned out even better that what was presented in the maquette, which is something one always hopes for as an artiste,” said Watson.

In May of last year Watson was named among four artists who were shortlisted. The three others were Valda Jackson, Jeannette Ehlers, and Thomas J Price. Following deliberations, his design was selected for the monument.

Watson’s design uses figures of a man, woman and child, representing the family, climbing a pile of suitcases, representing their culture. The suitcase holds within it everything this family has in their possession from their place of origin — in this case the Caribbean. It holds within it all things valuable.

Wednesday, June 22, has been designated Windrush Day in the UK.

However, the placement of the monument at Waterloo Station has not been without its share of controversy.

A number of civic bodies in the UK, including the Windrush Foundation, have been protesting against the location of the monument.

According to the foundation, the committee established by former Prime Minister Teresa May to consider how best to create a permanent, fitting tribute to the ‘Windrush generation and their descendants’ did not speak with Windrush Foundation, the organisation that was the first to have held yearly Windrush commemorative events in the UK from 1997.

According to the foundation, the passengers from the Caribbean did not arrive at Waterloo Station but instead arrived at Tilbury Docks on June 22, 1948, and 236 of them spent their first night at Clapham South Deep Shelter, Brixton (not via Waterloo Station).

“Brixton was the first ‘Windrush community’ in 1948 and it is still going strong today. Windrush Square, which is in the centre of Brixton, commemorates and celebrates the contributions of the Windrush passengers, and it is there that the first monument should be installed. They are the ones who laid the foundation for those who arrived later. Having the first Windrush monument in Windrush Square will be the symbolic link to ‘our past as we celebrate our future’,” the foundation noted.

While aware of this discussion, Watson said it is not something he has chosen to become involved with.

“I was brought into the project when the decision on Waterloo Station had already been made. It is a fantastic location given the traffic that passes through,” he said.

No stranger to having his work displayed in public spaces, Watson has created sculptures of athletes Merlene Ottey, Usain Bolt, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Asafa Powell and folklorist Louise Bennett Coverley, popularly known as Miss Lou in Jamaica, and the monument to American civil rights activist Dr Martin Luther King in Atlanta, USA.

Watson is already working on his next major project, another statue of Jamaican sprint sensation Usain Bolt for the city of Miramar in Florida.