Simple Concepts Can Be So Effective

Last evening I visited the Tower of London to see The Poppies. This art installation is gradually filling the moat around the Tower with 888,246 ceramic poppies, one for each British military fatality of the First World War. Running from 5 August to the 11 November the installation commemorates 100 years from the first full day of British engagement up to armistice day. It is almost complete now and very impressive.

I arrived in time for the daily redition of The Last Post. To hear that sound floating across a crowd standing below a view that mixed old and new was extremely poignant.

If you have not see this and have a chance then I commend it. Such a simple concept, executed expertly that results in a unique and moving monument, albeit temporary.

When Something Catches Your Eye.......

......but you can't explain why.

This is an old bill board that I have repeatedly walked by on my way to and from work. I don't know why, but once I noticed it I found I looked for it each journey. Why does that happen?

It is not pretty. It is not intentional. It is not valued or cared for.

Instead it is the product of neglect and the effect of the weather after much layered use. The tattered edges give a clear indication that there have been many posters placed there over time, but nothing new for some while.

There is a sense of inside out about it all. The wireless icon appear to be sunken in, maybe behind the board, but in truth must have been on one of the later postings.

Likewise the use of an ancient technique of bill posting to advertise the modern communication channel of WiFI seems ironic.

Yesterday I decided to photograph it and post it here as a way of capturing what I saw and felt even if I cannot explain it.

Does anyone else see it as interesting or is it just my messed up mind that was attracted to it?