Grief Sculpted in Stone: Mother Awaits Justice as Pan Am 103 Trial Slips
Artist Suse Lowenstein, who lost her son in the Pan Am 103 bombing, continues her quest for answers as the trial of the accused bomb-maker faces another delay.
In the quiet coastal town of Montauk, New York, an extraordinary memorial stands as a testament to a tragedy that shook the world. Suse Lowenstein, an artist who lost her 21-year-old son Alexander in the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing, has transformed her profound grief into a powerful sculptural tribute called Dark Elegy.
The memorial, which took 15 years to create, depicts the relatives of victims in the exact positions their bodies fell when they first learned of their loved ones' deaths. Lowenstein photographed and sculpted these raw, visceral moments of agony, capturing the universal nature of loss. "When a tragedy like Pan Am 103 happens, everyone who lost someone in such an incident is stripped. They're all equal," she reflects.
On December 21, 1988, a bomb destroyed Pan Am Flight 103 as it flew over Lockerbie, Scotland, en route from London to New York. All 259 people aboard were killed, along with 11 people on the ground. Among the 190 American victims were 35 Syracuse University students, including Alexander, an aspiring writer and avid surfer described by his mother as "always a sunshine."
Nearly four decades later, Lowenstein's quest for answers continues. A federal judge has postponed the trial of Abu Agila Mohammad Mas'ud Kheir Al-Marimi, the Libyan man accused of making the bomb. The delay follows the disclosure of new evidence that defense attorneys say they need time to investigate, extending the wait for closure.
For Lowenstein, the sculpture is both a personal catharsis and a public memorial. "This is portraying me. This is the way my body fell when I heard the news that Alexander had died," she says, pointing to one figure. "And then I created myself again basically holding myself up and staying alive."
She hopes to donate Dark Elegy to a public institution, ensuring the memories of those lost are preserved for future generations. As the legal process moves slowly forward, her work stands as a poignant reminder that for those left behind, the pain of such a loss never truly fades.