The Walking Man

There is a sculpture in Holland Park that is called 'Walking Man'. Created in 1998 by Sean Henry, it shows a rather ubiquitous, unexceptional male figure walking forwards, slowly but with purpose. His facial expressions are ambiguous: on one hand, you can view him as being worried about something, but on the other hand he can also seem mildly pleased about one of his own thoughts. In yet another light, he seems bored; in another, he seems exceptionally melancholy. The fact that his right foot seems tantalisingly about to touch the ground, but is not fully in contact, adds a greater sense of motion and life to his form.

 Left: 'Walking Man' by Sean Henry

What does he represent? I have looked at the sculpture many times on my morning cleaning sessions, and puzzled over that question in my mind. Who is this man? Where is he going? What is he thinking?

An interpretation that has recently come to me, and which I find myself adhering to more and more, is that this man could be a good representation for all of the world's key workers during this coronavirus pandemic - NHS care workers, park staff, cleaners, and delivery workers, amongst many others. They will have their own uncertainties and their doubts about what they are doing - after all, the presence of an illness that threatens their lives is little cause for comfort. Yet they keep on going to work, do their jobs and keep our community running through their efforts. They are the source of the power that keeps the world's gears turning.

What they have done is truly remarkable, and I find myself realising how grateful I should be to them even in normal times.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Wastage

Most of the litter that I pick up while on park cleaning excursions is of no further use to humans - hence why they have been thrown away in the first place. Although it's vexing to have to pick up empty bottles, sandwich boxes, used tissues and cigarette ends from the pathways, so far I have at least known that their time was up anyway, and so they could be disposed of with a clear conscience.  Today, however, there was an example that just went too far. In the bushes of Holland Park I discovered a package of wet wipes that was still more than half-full.  I don't want to get unnecessarily angry about this. However, I think that it is truly astonishing that somebody would have the idea of throwing away this perfectly usable product - and not even putting it into a waste bin, but hiding it away from sight as if they too were ashamed of their own actions. Those wet wipes could have served them well for at least a few more days. If nothing else, it was a waste of their money. What
Read more

Emperor Vespasian

I just learned that, on this day, the Roman Emperor Nero killed himself in 68 AD. Faced with huge popular unrest, mutiny in the army and with his great rival Galba marching on Rome, Nero took his own life - or forced his private secretary to do it (accounts differ significantly) - saying famously, "What an artist dies with me!" Yet although Nero was a hated figure by this point, one of the most turbulent and unstable years in ancient history would follow his death, as, over the course of 69 AD, no fewer than four emperors were crowned, weakened, and killed in succession. Galba, Otho and Vitellius all rose up to seek imperium and wear the purple toga, before they fell to each other's swords and to the might and power of Vespasian, who finally restored order to the Roman Empire. I have always greatly admired Vespasian. Unlike his predecessors, who all hailed from aristocratic backgrounds, he came from what is better described as an upper-middle class family, and was its fir
Read more

First Day (19/5/20)

Today was my first excursion to the parks. Originally I had intended to spend some time in Marcus Garvey Park and then briskly move on to Holland Park. This plan did not materialise, since I quickly realised that there was far more rubbish in the former than there had appeared to be a first glance. So I set to, equipped with my shiny new litter picker. Most of the things there were small objects, unfortunately all too common, such as cigarette ends and bottle caps. Around the benches in particular were dozens of cigarette ends - so many, in fact, that I grew tired of seeing their orange rectangular surfaces over and over again. I still can't understand why people smoke, or why they throw their cigarette ends onto the ground when there literally is a bin right next to them. It was the same with bottle caps, and even entire bottles and cans - I found an empty can of Guinness, another of Red Bull, and a bottle of Heineken lounging in the undergrowth. There are several bins in Marcus G
Read more