PHOTO: Sculpture in the City, London, UK


This is a photo of a public art sculpture covering air vents in Paternoster Lane in central London.

I chose this picture because it represented rays of light (as you might see when the sun’s rays radiate out from behind a cloud). I took the photo of this steel structure during summer, about mid-afternoon, when the sun was directly overhead and reflecting off the angular facets of the sculpture. The play of light and shadow caught my attention.

This photographic experience was at a time when I was looking for “beauty” in the mundane – I walked through the city of London and compelled myself to look at structures – I mean actually observe and contemplate them – so that I could appreciate how lines and shapes interact. I conducted the exercise as an experience with consciousness. 

How many times do we just go about our days in an unconscious daze without actually seeing what is around us? How many hours of our life – and the wonders that are in them – have we lost forever because we simply couldn’t be bothered to pay attention?   


Image: Sculpture in Paternoster Lane, City of London, UK. Copyright - Michael Beaton

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