‘When?’ and ‘Why?’: Questions by the artist 742 to be found at low tide
A new temporary installation by the anonymous street artist 742 has appeared on Bankside Beach on the south bank of the Thames. Titled I Have Only Two Questions, the project unfolds over four days, from 8 to 11 January. Along a stretch of foreshore between Millennium Bridge and Blackfriars Bridge, close to Tate Modern, around 1,500 small, palm-sized concrete tiles have been placed, each bearing one of two words: ‘WHEN?’ or ‘WHY?’. They are visible only at low tide.
Conceived by the artist as a reference to London’s long-standing tradition of mudlarking — the search for objects and ‘traces of the past’ along the Thames at low tide — the work grew out of close observation. 742 notes having watched people wander the exposed riverbed for hours, hoping to discover relics or simply selecting a pebble ‘as a keepsake’, and at some point decided to replace ‘things’ with more abstract finds, such as ‘questions’.
In the project statement, 742 links the choice of words to the experience of everyday uncertainty. ‘When?’ is described as a question of survival, while ‘Why?’ tends to come later, when there is space for reflection. The tiles themselves are deliberately small and ‘unobtrusive’, so that the work does not read as a slogan or a demand: passers-by may walk straight past, notice them by chance, pick one up, or leave it where it lies.
Who is 742
On the project page, 742 is described as an anonymous artist ‘working with temporary interventions in public space, themes of memory and collective experience, where the site itself becomes part of the statement’. Previous works include the 60-metre wall installation 100 Years in the Shadow of War. The Poetry of Numbers on the Thames at Tilbury, and the large-scale textile piece Where Have All the Flowers Gone? at the former RAF Greenham Common base.
When and where to see it
The installation can be seen during daytime low-tide ‘windows’ (times are approximate):
- Fri, 9 January — 10:00–13:00
- Sat, 10 January — 11:00–14:00
- Sun, 11 January — 11:00–14:00
Organisers advise checking tide tables in advance: conditions on the Thames change, and access to the foreshore depends directly on water levels (as a general guide, low tide in central London on these dates falls around the middle of the day).
Important safety information for the Thames foreshore
Bankside Beach is a section of tidal foreshore where conditions can change rapidly. The Port of London Authority warns that the ground may be slippery or sticky, that the water rises quickly with the tide, and that hidden hazards such as broken glass and other debris may be present. Visitors are advised to wear suitable footwear, stay close to steps and exit points, and avoid going onto the foreshore alone. In an emergency on the river, the official guidance is to call 999 and ask for the Coastguard.
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2 Comments.
So litter then
What do you mean?