Wednesday, July 13, 2016

SHOTS FROM LONDON (Part 1): National Gallery and the 'Floating Statues'

Highlights [or is it lowlights? ;-D] of a recent trip to London and Edinburgh. As per usual practice, we will skip on most parts of the trip and just harp on a few oddball experiences)



The National Gallery is one of London's leading attractions, set right on Trafalgar Square, itself a favorite spot of tourists to sit down beside the fountains and watch the world go by. 

For me, the National Gallery has this distinct air of grandeur inside, comfortable without being stuffy. It's a nice place to be in, even if you don't necessarily appreciate all the artworks on the walls. 


  

My own personal sweet spot are the French Impressionists; and this one i really liked, Camille Pissarro's "The Boulevard Montmartre at Night" (1897).


 And this one, by my favorite, the tortured Vincent Van Gogh's "A Wheatfield with Cypresses" (1889). 


But i digress. There is another form of art going on right outside the National Gallery.  Men dressed as sci-fi characters or other costumes, who appear to be 'floating' on air,  are a constant fixture right in front of the entrance. Like this one below (let's call him 'Silver Man'):


Tourists (children and adults alike) pass by and gawk and wonder amongst themselves, "how does he do that?". Then they start taking out their mobile phones and cameras. Of course, it is good form to give some loose change to these costumed fellas, if one wants to have a photo taken with them.  

Look, there's Yoda in the background! (below)
 

In case you're wondering why these photos were taken from the back of these statues, that's because i was too miserly to fork over some coins! :D 

Here's one i grabbed from my friend Maiko's IG: 



And another one from my friend, dimply Racch's, IG entitled "Yoda in the City": 


So, to go back to the burning question of the hour, how do they indeed appear to be floating or levitating off the ground?  Ah, it's a pretty simple trick, really. But i won't spoil the fun -- just Google it, and it will be crystal clear.

'Elementary," as Sherlock Holmes would say. 



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