When I finally decided to go to Bermuda with my sisters five years ago, I called the Chamber of Commerce there and asked for a guide to public sculpture.
They announced they had none, but they thought there was a sculptor on the island who did bronze work! Impossible, I thought, as I gathered up guide books and loaded my Canon with film. I was out for bear and I wouldn’t be satisfied until I got a roll full.
It wasn’t too difficult, as I suspected. I bagged the life size Sir George Somers, of course, on Ordnance Island. It’s a pretty standard tribute to the shipwrecked English colonizer of the island made by Desmond Fountain, the sculptor the CofC referred to. It was dedicated by HRH Princess Margaret in the early 1980’s.
Later I snagged a bundle of shots of Fountain’s other bronze people (ala George Segal) that sit on benches and stand alone all around the island. Not brilliant work, these statues, and to tell you the truth, the genre’s been done to death, but they were competent and friendly. I could look them straight in the eye, and they were great photo ops.
Since I’ve been there, Fountain has added a tribute to the Island’s official greeter- Johnny Barnes, at the Hamilton bus terminal. He was a friendly ex-bus driver who used to stand around and wish everyone a great day. Today, even his statue gives you that warm Bermuda welcome. (Photo from int505.org website)
There’s another new piece, too. Just reading about it is enough to seduce me back. Called Ariel, it’s a stainless steel version of Prospero’s fairy guide from the Tempest. She stands out in the water at the Ariel Sands Beach Club, I find, waiting for me.
10:43:40 PM 
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