Tuesday 20 May 2008

Ghost Bikes


photo from here
"When we make ghost bikes, we tap into the hurt of the world. Each person is part of the soul of their city. These stories can make headlines one day and are forgotten the next - we try to make the city remember. We choose to honour that stranger we know could just as easily be our friend, our sister, our own self. That choice makes us whole."
From an article by Geoff Dyer and more details from Ghost Bikes

I used to ride around a lot on my bike before the children were born, I am not sure I could any more so much more traffic, buses and lorries are the worst. Even as a child I would roam the country lanes of my village and of the local estate Bramham Park I did get quite wistful when LLG described riding her bicycle through the streets of New York but now Emin has had his pinched it will not happen for some time. I think the ghost bikes are a wonderful way to remember loved ones killed by thoughtless drivers and if it makes people slow down and check their mirrors and their speed all to the good.

2 comments:

La Belette Rouge said...

Sad and really poignant. The lighting on the photo is extraordinary and certainly brings to mind a sense of loss.

Franc said...

We were chatting about 'white bikes' in tutorial a week before I stumbled upon your blog entry. Yes, poignant, and we all now know why it's there.
Cheers
Franc