My Hero (Steve)

I've been working on my strand of the Pol project, 'Navigate', whenever there has been a quiet moment between trips out to organise printing, fabric sourcing and meeting contractors for the Ellis Bridge flag project. I am now the proud owner of a second-hand indian bicycle (which answers to the name 'Hero') bought from the cycle repair shop just opposite the entrance to Dhal ni Pol. In my haste to begin to take it apart, I forgot to get a photo of the bike in its original state, so here is a photo of Devi Singh's bike 'Hercules', which looks pretty similar.

One aspect of the Pol project has been to explore the 'finding' of beauty in mundane and unexpected places and contexts, and I do find these battered but sturdy bicycles rather beautiful. However, rather than attempting to build a complete ceramic floral bicycle (my original intention) I am instead making some discreet interventions into the form of the bike. The wheel is an obvious choice, resonating with the cyclical Indian concept of time and history, and the cakra, the spinning wheel symbol of Indian independence, so I'm attempting to replace the front tyre with a band of flowers. I'm also drawn to the saddle as a potential site for flowers - largely because of its elegant shape.