Hugo Nowhere // James Burke
What is Hugo Nowhere?
Red Tape Man or Hugo Nowhere as he was later named was commissioned by Esselco LLP for permanent installation at Warnford Court, a stones throw from the bank of England on Threadneedle street. He is a life size London Banker taped to the wall with his own 'red tape'.
What does it mean?
Hugo represents the mood of the nation towards the banking industry at the time. The country was in deep recession and the bankers were the guys taking all the blame. Hugo is probably the embodiment of what the vast majority of the public wanted to do to these guys as they were made to pay the price of the big banks antics. At the time the papers were dominated with headlines vilifying the banking sector and for me this was a tongue in cheek way of representing the story. Hugo's status as a banker is emphasized by his bowler hat and umbrella - two icons of the british banker which for me always conger up images of Mr Banks from Mary Poppins. I also wanted to play on the fact that the building Hugo sits in once had ties to the bank of England and is itself just around the corner from the main Bank of England building.
How did you do it?
It was important that Hugo looked life like. The shock factor of this piece was a key ingredient in it's impact so I wanted to get this just right. I enlisted the help of Sunita Parmar who is a special effect expert whose backround is TV and film. Together we agreed on a look for Hugo and she then set about working her magic
Everything from his hair style to his clothes were considered - his clothes come from Ede and Ravenscroft the oldest tailors in London and are styled specifically on the 'bankers' look.
Installation was a fun process as we started to witness peoples reactions to the piece. Hugo's location in also playful. As you come out of the lift on the ground floor he is there - you may even miss him the first time round as he sits quite high.
What has been the response to Hugo?
What's great is that in a building like this, there is no suggestion that there is going to be an art installation of this nature around the corner and the unexpected engagement you enter into with him forces a response, what ever that may be. Its fair to say that there has been a mixed reception to Hugo form the users of the building (mostly corporate companies) but it does force you to asses your views on the subject - either you sympathize with Hugos predicament or you feel perhaps he has had his comeuppance. This element of viewer response is the true nature of the piece.
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