"Since Jane Alexander's Butcher Boys was acquired by the South African national Gallery in 1990, it has been acclaimed as an icon. It is a work of extraordinary visual and emotional impact - it has visceral, sensory qualities that linger in the viewer's mind long after leaving the Gallery. In conversation with the artist, this publication explores the materiality of the work in relation to its making and later care in a museum context. Kobena Mercer of Yale University provides interpretive insights on Jane Alexander's 'poetic monsters' and highlights the complex interplay of brutality and vulnerability that the sculpture signifies. Angela Zehnder outlines the role of the conservator in ensuring the long-term preservation of the work. Butcher Boys is a work of enduring significance and this publication affirms the importance of holding such works in a public collection and of the commitment to conserving such artworks for the future."--Page 4 of cover.