I had not seen Old Flo since she moved to Canary Wharf.
The signage might suggest that she isn’t necessarily that much appreciated:-
But, otherwise, she looks good in the winter sun:-
Very appropriately, she sits opposite a Lynn Chadwick on the other side of the waterworks:-
I know why it is the case that you can no longer climb her. But having spent my childhood doing just that I do find it sad that she is now something to admire rather than something to embrace.
But surely Henry Moore would have liked the idea of local kids embracing her ? Charles
Precisely. But I assume that, as when she was at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, climbing or even touching is no longer encouraged for conservation reasons. Incidentally Canary Wharf group have published a really nice 20 page glossy brochure aimed at school children called ‘Henry Moore’s Old Flo and Canary Wharf’. It has lots of info about how the brass was cast, her days at the Stifford Estate, details of other LCC works of art etc. There is a picture of the Lynn Chadwick too. The publication can be ordered from the Education Liaison Office at Canary Whart (dale.pile@canarywharf.com). I was sent a copy as, along with other people who grew up around her, I am quoted in the booklet.
I’d like to see Frank Dobson’s lovely sculpture ‘Woman and Fish’ returned to Frank Dobson Square at the edge of Globe town and Cambridge Heath Road, where there was also a fountain. Unfortunately, the petition pushing for this (http://bit.ly/2W4W830) didn’t get many signatures. And the land may now be developed by Tower Hamlets as part of the social housing infill programme.
Yes, I didn’t know about it, but, having looked it up, it seems a pity that the sculpture isn’t where it’s supposed to be. Charles