Et Purus

The Olympic motto “Faster, Higher, Stronger” (in Latin citius, altius, fortius) is completed by this monumental work Et Purus, meaning “and cleaner”. This sculpture is a tribute to the Swedish professor, Arne Ljungqvist, a former champion high jumper who competed at the Summer Olympics in 1952. This monument created by Sassona Norton commemorates the fiftieth anniversary of the anti-doping campaign introduced by Ljungqvist, one of the main figures behind the founding of the World Anti-Doping Agency, a former member of the IOC and international sporting organisations. By hosting this piece, donated by the Arne Ljungqvist Foundation, the Monegasque Anti-doping Committee is paying homage to the Olympian, scientist and sporting leader, who is also a member of World Athletics, headquartered in Monaco. This sculpture dit Et Purus was officially unveiled on 2 December 2021 by H.S.H. Prince Albert II. Resting on a half-globe representing the northern hemisphere, a hand with its index finger pointing skyward symbolises the number one, man’s aspiration to elevation, and the sporting gesture of victory. On the finger, a circle marks the spot from which the athlete’s blood is drawn. An American artist of Israeli origin, Sassona Norton was born on 26 February 1942. A graduate of the University of Tel Aviv, she moved to the United States in 1974 and began sculpting in the eighties. Her remarkable creations are exhibited mainly in the US. They include The Edge of Rest installed in New York, An Hour before Dawn in Lorton, Virginia, and the 9/11 Memorial in Norristown, Pennsylvania. Her project Et Purus aims to promote the cause of anti-doping through art. The first of the series can be found in Monaco. Other copies will be installed in the world’s great sporting capitals.