Sitting in a coffee shop across the road from The Royal Courts of Justice, I wondered how I could create a piece that would visually portray the idea of freedom and institutions, about what was there before us that gives us these freedoms, and about what may or may not change – and what may come after us. In my mind’s eye I stripped away everything that detracted from the beautiful building itself: the continuous flow of traffic, the hordes of people, the chatter of the city in mid-week swing. In the stillness, I heard a child laugh behind me, and it was this joyful sound that became the inspiration for “Fair Play” as it is today.
The contrast between the beautiful, foreboding building and the innocence and freedom of the children is very apparent. Children learn about rules and fair play through games. They will continue to build and navigate these rules and laws of the world as they grow up. Benefitting from documents and institutions that came long before them, these children, and those who come after them, will decide how our world needs to function, and to effect change upon it.
