Two men in Paddington, one standing with hands in pockets waiting, and the other is purposefully striding towards him, but they will never meet.
These are two men frozen in time as a work of art.
Commissioned 20 years ago in 2003, these life-size painted bronzes were created by the British sculptor Sean Henry, who has a long history of sculpting the human form, for the Paddington Basin office development area.
The Paddington Basin fluff suggests they are “the perfect opportunity for a creative selfie”.
Although the two figures are separated by enough of a distance that it might have been possible to walk past one without being aware they are a pair — there is a visible link between the two with a wide band of paving that stands out from the surroundings.
Being also semi-lifelike with the painted bronze, it’s a bet that some people, maybe charging along looking at their phone, have almost bumped into the sculpture and offered an apology before hurrying past, unaware they apologised to a lump of metal.
Which would be peak Britishness in action.
Very interesting to read a bit of background about these sculptures. I happened to walk past them the other day and they always bring a smile to my face. There’s a similar pair in Wood Wharf over in East London too.
There’s also one in Holland Park