Tuesday 7 December 2004

Why do I do this every day?

There is a painted fence on the road from Oxford to London - I think it's on the M40 - which says "Why do I do this every day? NO WAR" - sometimes in different colours. At the moment, it's white letters on a green background. I always thought this was protest graffiti: the "NO WAR" stood out for me because there are similar daubings on the wall beside the church on Jackdaw Lane, the access road to the Iffley Road sports ground. I thought the question meant, "Why do I keep coming back to repaint this sign every day?" I realized today, however, that it could be - and probably is - intended for the commuters who travel to London to work every day. The "I" I always thought was the soliloquizing voice of the fence-painter, coming back in the middle of the night to redo his protest. It's specially angled for London-bound drivers to see at the bottom of a small enclave of trees. I wonder why I always thought of it from the lone artist's point of view, rather than the wider, more universal, audience's.

2 comments:

  1. Interesting. I've often marvelled at those very words as I speed by on the Oxford Tube.

    Anyway, how are you? Who are you? What are you doing now that autumn has ushered you out?

    Him

    [email protected]

    ReplyDelete
  2. Check out my self-portrait (the link is in the sidebar) if you want to find out more about the "who". Autumn has failed, really, to usher me out of Oxford. I should really update that "About Me" snippet in my profile. I'm coming to realize I'm more of an evergreen than a deciduous when it comes to Oxonian longevity. O Tannenbaum!

    ReplyDelete