In central London’s Waterloo Place, a life-size statue that emerged in a single day in late April has been making a stir. Once I visited a number of weeks after it was erected, native authorities had already arrange protecting obstacles round it.
The set up — signed by the famed avenue artist Banksy — depicts a person in a swimsuit hoisting a flag as he strides over a precipice. As he marches on, the flag blows backward to cowl his face, leaving him unaware he is solely a step away from a deadly fall.
Set amongst grand monuments celebrating Britain’s previous, the “flag man” takes on a specific visible irony at a time when the nation — and far of the world — is debating its path ahead.
Like many viewers there, I discovered myself questioning whether or not this statue is Banksy’s warning concerning the penalties of uncritical nationalism, or just a mirrored image on human shortsightedness. Or, maybe, it’s simply prompting us to ponder a broader query: What occurs when devotion to a logo prevents us from seeing what lies forward?
Regardless of the message, the work feels remarkably attuned to the present second.
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