Monday 20 July 2015

Olivier Grossetete; The Cardboard Tower of Hounslow.




It's quite an impressive sight - we saw this as we drove through Hounslow, I dropped Robyn off and then came back to do some shopping. Robyn thought it was standing when we drove past, I'm not so sure.

Either way, this is what I thought of as I approached it;

                                 "Ozymandias"

            I met a traveller from an antique land
            Who said: "Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
            Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,
            Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
            And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
           Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
           Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
           The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed:
           And on the pedestal these words appear:
           'My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
           Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!'
           Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
           Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
           The lone and level sands stretch far away


                      Percy Bysshe Shelley.




A lot of work went into that and quite a lot of sellotape too;


 
 
 
It was actually a work of art by Olivier Grossetete who is a kind of performance artist; he builds castles, fantasy buildings or monuments out of cardboard. They last for about a day and then they are demolished.
 
 
It was a replica of the top of the tower at Kew Bridge Steam museum which was a 19th century water pumping station.
 
It was due to be destroyed at 2 pm so it's rather sad that people didn't get to enjoy it on Sunday.
 
It was still quite an achievement.
 
 
 
 
Neil Harris
(a don't stop till you drop production)
 
 
 

 
 



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