footprints

yellow footprints on a sidewalk - Brick lane

White footprints - bethnal green road

300 meters (approx) separate these 2 pictures. 4 feet in pairs of 2 for each case (plus a ghost foot?). The first one is in the middle of a sidewalk, and it doesn’t have (apparently) any functional meaning. It’s therefore even more significant. Second picture has been taken in front of an ATM machine (you can see feet of somebody using it).

They share similarities, but they surprise for how different they are: in one case they mark somebody’s steps (maybe jumping, or playing) while in another case they strongly recommend one’s position (as they give indications on how to queue). They both invite people replicating the position, but while in one case they just foster playful movements, while in the other they create empty spaces.

Moreover, I have the impression that the second picture is also creating a gender barrier: these are clearly men’s soles.

Not for Climbing use

Some of my friends started using climbing hooks as a key rings – back in the ’90s.

The same object is now a key ring only. The usage changes the function of the same object.

Moreover, the object prevents future mis-use: you can read NOT FOR CLIMBING USE on one side of the hook. I’m sure it’s fore safety reason (materials are different, I reckon). Is this a good example of a misleading cultural affordance? And what happens when the object is used for other purposes (e.g. fixing a net to a pole, to create an improvised goal)?

On a similar note: what does the CHINA mark mean, if visually connected to the alert written on the hook?