Friday, January 17, 2025

Kit


When I was walking on Holloway Road a couple of weeks ago, I passed this ornate, tile-glazed tube station, part of the Piccadilly Line. I rarely use that line, and never in this area, so it's not a station I'm particularly familiar with. I immediately noticed that peculiar yellow thing hanging off the pole at the left. Is that a human figure? With a Santa hat?


And sunglasses, no less!

Apparently these foam figurines are by an artist named Kit, who has been working in this area for years. Here are articles about him from 2016 and 2017. I thought the yellow foam was a swimming pool noodle, but it's actually used to wrap scaffolds, to make the pipes at street level more visible and softer (in case people walk into them, I suppose).


Here's another foam guy, sitting atop a post on a traffic island. He looks like he's wearing one of those '70s fringed suede jackets, but apparently it was originally an angel with another figure on its shoulders.

Not surprisingly, according to the articles, opinion is divided over Kit's artworks. But I admire anyone who can muster the energy to make and install creations like this. It makes our neighborhoods a bit more unique and distinctive.

23 comments:

  1. I think they are fabulous and you could play games while walking seeing who can spot the most figures.

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  2. It’s a fun idea and I’ll bet it’s a lot of fun for the artist.

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  3. I love those. What a great idea to brighten up the streetscape.

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  4. I hope that Kit does not board a train to Sheffield bearing a sack filled with yellow scaffold shielding tubes.

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  5. Very imaginative. I'm sure they make people smile.

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  6. Interesting. From that first pic, I thought it was a wacky interpretation of the Grinch. They're a little odd, but kind of fun!

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  7. Those figures are fun. Great adaptation of industrial material. I wonder if people walk into obstacles while texting.

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  8. I certainly like those kinds of art versus the ones spray painted on the sides of walls and buildings.

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  9. I like the figures but don't like that foam is just another form of plastic.

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  10. I have to admit the figures are not my favorite. But, as you say, they are distinctive and make the area a little more interesting.

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  11. And fun. Definitely makes the neighborhood more fun. I like them, but then I like quirky stuff like that.

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  12. We all need a little whimsy in our lives and the figurines are clever and fun. Nice work Kit!

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  13. They are fun and I imagine they make people smile. We all need that!

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  14. Very imaginative. I think they are fun.

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  15. I think the figures are bright and cheerful.

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  16. I like them! My brother & I got in a fight about his fringed jacket when we were teenagers. I said a cuss word & got in big trouble! Ha!

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  17. I don't like them as in I wouldn't want them in my house, but they are cool otherwise and as public art. They are unique and creative.

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  18. I like that kind of artful surprise!

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  19. Quirky and interesting. I like them as street art.

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  20. The are not my cup of tea, but they are fun.

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  21. Thanks for your comments, everyone! I like them too and think they liven up the urban landscape. It's fun being surprised by evidence of people's creativity.

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