The Lighterman

Situated at a historic 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 the work 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 the acrylic and polished steel used in its construction interact with the ambient light to create a dynamic visual display. As viewers approach and circle it, shifting colours, patterns and reflections emerge, echoing the twinkling of navigation lights at night and the sparkling reflections on the waters of the Thames as they react to wind and tide.

The Lighterman will remain in situ at Putney Wharf throughout Wandsworth Arts Fringe and Wandsworth Heritage Festival before moving down the river to its permanent location in The Riverside Gardens at The HiLight, 99 York Road, SW11 3RD in late July.
 

G23LAB thanks The HiLight by Ghelamco and Wandsworth Borough Council for their generous support of this project.