2002 - A Dons Odyssey

PRESS RELEASE: Fleydon Artworks Inc. 06-02-2010

Major Artwork To Be Unveiled At Kingsmeadow

“We then walked round the corner to the junction of Plough Lane and Durnsford Road, where the sculpture – named “Landmark” -- was waiting for us, wrapped in a red cloth.” WISA article

Saturday’s game against Forest Green Rovers sees the unveiling of the latest Fleydon artwork and a companion piece to artist Sam Burford’s Plough Lane Landmark monolith (see Sam's site for pictures of the piece)

Although bitterly disappointed at being overlooked in the selection process for the Plough Lane commission and semingly forgotton when invitations were being assigned,  by sheer coincidence Fleydon happened to be in area during the unveiling. At the conclusion of the ceremony (and after all participants had left the scene) Fleydon emerged from the surrounding bushes, determined to retrieved the red material used to wrap the monolith which had been casually discarded in the rain.

Whilst crouched on the floor gathering the cloth, Fleydon looked up at the black monolith towering above him at the very moment when the rain clouds parted and the sun burst through, creating both a halo of light around the statue and an epiphany in the mind of the artist.

At that point Fleydon realised that with his crouching pose, the monolith and the burst of light that there were uncanny echoes of the film 2001: A Space Odyssey when an outside force prompts a huge evolutionary change within the minds of our primitive ape-like ancestors.

2001 might have been important in the film but 2002 is, of course, the year when AFC Wimbledon suddenly emerged from the broken carapace of its predecessor and when attitudes and beliefs evolved in new and exciting directions. Just as the ape-man shattered all his rivals with his new and potent 'club' so too did the motivated and highly intelligent new species of Wimbledon football supporter. In fact it was a time when a new ‘Dons Odyssey’ began as the club once again began it's long haul to 'reach for the stars'

Fleydon has captured this moment of enlightenment on his new banner, the material of which is the very red shroud mentioned in the WISA commentary and used to cover the Plough Lane statue. Likened by many to the Holy Shroud of Turin, this scared red rag helps ensure that, in some small way, a vital link is maintained with Wimbledon’s spiritual Plough Lane home.

Film buffs will also be aware that the motto “The Ultimate Trip” is not only a strap line on the original movie, but also echoes manager Terry Brown’s assertion that the journey is often more enjoyable than the destination. It is this small but vital attention to detail that keeps Fleydon on the top of his game
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