A lot of those who know King Cnut know him as the foolish King who, in a moment of hubris, tried to stop the tide from coming in. But this is not so. The actual is that the King was trying to demonstrate to his courtiers that he had no power of the sea

              We are living in age where behaviour needs to dramatically change, yet only the smallest steps are been taken. We are all the foolish King Canute. We do not seem to want to change our behaviours. This is despite the overwhelming evidence that continually confronts us. We are facing an incoming tide that we may be able to stop, and yet we seem to be ignoring this opportunity. What action we do take is often just piecemeal. Enough to make us think we are doing something, but in, not enough.

              The court of King Canute that I have created is made from found bits of brick. Collected from beaches around the Cape Peninsula, they are relics of buildings that were built too close to the sea. They  have already succumbed to the energy of the ocean.

As one last effort to prove that man is stronger than nature, I have imagined the pieces assembling themselves into golems. Their behaviour mimicking that of the Iron Man in the Ted Hughes, the pieces of brick come together to form human like figures.

These golems though are not wise like King Cnut, but rather foolish ones. They still believe that they can face down the sea. So, much like the original Golem, Adam, they act in defiance, refusing to listen.