The power of not knowing

One of my favourite places in London is Hungerford Bridge, the footbridge I regularly take over the Thames from Waterloo and the South Bank.

This summer, the “Hungerford Bridge Gallery of Outsider Art” suddenly appeared one day. No explanation, no website, simply art that was suddenly there for the 10,000 or more pedestrians, both tourists and Londoners, who walked past it each day.

Then, all of a sudden, in late September and after 91 days (so I learned later), it was gone. I had wondered what it was all about but was more than content to enjoy it, to not know and to appreciate the playfulness.

Now, I say often that I don’t believe in luck but I do believe in serendipity (see “Creating Serendipity”), so today’s post is late as I went up to town to meet someone I’d met only in October, the unique gift that is Steve Chapman.

As it turns out, amongst our amazing meandering conversation through meaning, humanity, social constructs, middlescence and more, I learned he was the creator and curator of that gallery, which amassed more than one million visitors (ok, passers-by) in 91 days.