I took this picture of my wife outside the Edgeware Road station in London, as she seemingly pointed out a missed spot or a smudge high on the building opposite. It amused me enough to keep it and to feature it, and also made me wonder about the statue and its sculptor.
So: It turns out that the statue, The Window Cleaner, was commissioned in 1990 by the builder of the Capital House office building, the very one at which he (and she) are gazing.
The sculptor, Allan Sly, has produced a number of whimsical statues that lend a human note to spaces that might otherwise seem monumental, or simply be overlooked. Here are a few more.
Outside St Mary’s Hospital, London, a messenger leans against a pillar, standing on one foot, and gazing up into his shoe to find the pebble that is just killing his heel…
And in Guilford, The Surrey Scholar depicts a young university student appears pleased to have, perhaps, ended the term and completed his exams.
Below, in Hastings (yes, the one famous for 1066 and all that) a player in full kit celebrates The Spirit of Cricket.
At bottom, and in a less representational mode, Sly’s Masquerade stands at the entrance to Guilford’s Electric Theatre.
Photos: Messenger (Ham/Wikimedia); Surrey Scholar (Colin Smith/Wikimedia); Cricket (Paul Gillett/Wikimedia) and Masquerade (Jim Linwood/Wikimedia)
A wonderful display of humour in the community. Good to see folks enjoying the fun of it.