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Imagination runs wild

I’ve just spent a few days in Doha, a city renowned for fabulous architecture but not so much for public art. The public art tends to be along the lines of a giant clam shell with equally giant pearl in the middle of a roundabout. At least it used to. I spent one evening in Katara – a cultural complex so new it is still under construction and was forced to change my mind when I stumbled across some amazing art work.

She is called Force of Natrure.
She is called Force of Nature.

I was exploring the roman style amphitheatre, and my eye was caught by a woman, beautifully lit by a full moon (and some well-placed spotlights). Her face was hidden by her blowing robes. I wondered what she looked like and thought it a little sad that I couldn’t see her face.I couldn’t find any information about the statue at the site, but later googling revealed it’s by artist Lorenzo Quinn – who happens to be son of the Actor Anthony Quinn.

Then I spotted them – the three men. Or more accurately three male heads.

Each statue is taller than a person and they looked quite eerie in the darkness.
Each statue is taller than a person and they looked quite eerie in the darkness.

From a distance, it was hard to see just what gave them the remarkable texture. It was only when I got closer I recognized the pots and plates and household items.

The everyday household items - plates and cooking implements were an interesting contract to the subjects.
The everyday household items – plates and cooking implements were an interesting contract to the subjects.

The first was a wild man. His face was covered with a bandana. He brought to mind images form the front pages of todays newspapers. His eyes were what captured me. They were wide and wild and just a little bit scary. If my trio of sculptures were telling a story, he was the villain of the piece.

In official descriptions of the artwork - he is called the terrorist.
In official descriptions of the artwork – he is described as wearing a terrorist hood.

The second figure was wearing a gas mask, that once again turned familiar homely objects into something very different.

The carefully placed coloured plates made him seem blue eyed.
The carefully placed coloured plates made him seem blue eyed.

Was he the victim of an attack? Or had he come from some dystopian future, where simply breathing the air is hard?

The third and final figure was the hero of our piece. His pots and pans had been beaten into a military helmet. His eyes were also hidden behind sunglasses, but his cheekbones and jawline were those of a hero. He was very handsome and an aura of strength and honour and reliability.

First the terrorist, then the victim and now the soldier completes the trio.
First the terrorist, then the victim and now the soldier completes the trio.

But perhaps he wasn’t all that he pretended to be?

By then my writer’s brain was racing. I was imaging all kinds of scenarios where these three might meet. Or form which they might each emerge changed in some way. Would they be friends or bitter enemies. And if the latter, who would win if it came to a contest….

That’s one of the problems of being a writer… my head never stops conjuring up stories about the people I see, be they real or cast iron.

I of course googled the statues. They are called Gandhi’s Three Monkeys by Indian sculptor Subodh Gupta – and use the theme of hear, speak and see no evil to address his thoughts on war.

As I turned away from my intriguing men, I saw what I thought was a hand holding a TV remote control aloft. It was pink and then it was red, but there was something triumphant in the way the fingers grasped the remote.

I was laughing at that, drawn away from my fantasy by a touch of something very real… until I got a little closer and looked at the ends of those fingers wrapped around the remote.

Google let me down on this one. I could not find out anything about it or the artist who made it. But whoever you are - this is great. Thank you.
Google let me down on this one. I could not find out anything about it or the artist who made it. But whoever you are – this is great. Thank you.

Talons! My brain was off again…