Photo: Screenshot/royalmint.com
A commemorative coin with a sketch of an eye and the inscription “Big Brother is watching you” will be released in memory of the writer George Orwell, author of the novel “1984”, on the 75th anniversary of his death, the British Royal Mint announced.
The two pound coin appears to have an eye, but is actually a camera lens, with another quote from Orwell’s dystopian novel written on the edge: “There was truth and there was untruth”.
Artist Henry Gray said the theme of totalitarianism was central to his designs.
“Because there are phones and cameras everywhere in your house and advertisers are listening to you on the phone, you’re really aware of how you’re being monitored—and that’s what ‘1984’ is. That’s why the eye (in the design) isn’t a real eye. There’s no eyelash and things like that, it’s almost like a camera lens staring at you all the time, unblinking,” Gray said.
The novel “1984”, set in a fictional future, depicts the secret rebellion of civil servant Winston Smith against a totalitarian government and its leader, Big Brother.
Orwell, who is also known for the satirical political fable “Animal Farm”, died in London on January 21, 1950 at the age of 47, a few months after the novel “1984” was published.
The Royal Mint said the collector’s coin would go on sale on Wednesday at £17.50 each.
The two pound coins also feature other famous literary figures, including William Shakespeare, Jane Austen and John Ronald Reuel Tolkien.
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Source: www.vijesti.me
