Slipping away

Its easy to forget that history can tell us about human adaptation in the face of adversity, it can act as a compass during the unsettling and unpredictable future. The Frost Fair story drew me into thoughts around the British public ability to come together and make the best of a bad situation. During the coldest parts of winter, from the 7th to the 19th century, London experienced a mini Ice age where the famous London Thames River froze over repeatedly. It was a bleak time that extremified poverty, many businesses ground to a halt with trade ships restrained by the ice. 

So people took to the ice to sell whatever goods they had hustling their way through in an inebriated survivalism. Initially boatman sold a potent home brew called Purl that they carried on them for personal use. 

Soon a hedonistic festival/ carnival/fair was born, one which evolved into epic proportions over the years. ... music, fire, gambling, spit roasting animals, you name it. 

The two scenic paintings reflect the goings on of the Frost fairs, in a surreal moment an Elephant was paraded down the ice right by London bridge.. I deliberately routed the site into my walk to work each morning, imagining wtf that must have looked like!