The Lighterman

Situated near a historical junction of road, river and pedestrian traffic, the work represents the navigation lights that guided seagoing vessels along the Thames, but its proportions conform to Vitruvian principles, lending the work a subtly human, though abstract, presence. Thus it also represents the highly skilled oarsmen who once navigated the shallow barges, called lighters, used to offload goods at Putney Wharf, linking the past with the present through materiality, form and location. 

The sculpture is designed as a passive light artwork. It contains no internal light source but instead interacts with ambient light to create a dynamic visual effect. As viewers approach and circle it, shifting colours, patterns and reflections emerge, echoing the twinkle of navigation lights at night and the ever-changing reflections on the waters of the Thames as they react to wind and tide.