The Yellow Hose

The Barbican Estate’s “ubiquitous yellow hose” as I have coined it on my Instagram page is a sign that Spring has arrived and the gardeners on the Estate are preparing new beds and watering existing ones. My artworks here suggest a need for a connection with nature in the City. The brutal architecture is softened by exotic trees (see web page entitled “Brutal Palms” and “Barbican Gardens”) and wild foliage. There is a hint of satire in some of my works: rich urban humans ostensibly living without gardens, find that nature grows everywhere. I juxtapose the urban and natural landscapes in order to explore the psyche of the urban dweller and the effect of landscape on the individual. The natural areas of the Estate, at the height of autumn, spring and summer, sometimes overcome the mere buildings with their sheer colour. The delicate Spring blossom trees contrast with the massive concrete sculptures. The Sculpture Court below me resembles a brutal playground, an oasis, even a paradise regained! The yellow hose is a metaphor for the snake in our garden of Eden here. The sometimes benign, but occasionally evil gardener, is part of this imaginary narrative. There is also a young blonde gardener who features in some of these paintings with her Rapunzel like hair which fuses with the yellow hose. She is my Eve figure in this narrative. Of course, in reality, our gardeners are all wonderful human beings and I admire their work immensely!