Can you climb him? Why isn't he a girl? What's he made out of? How did he get here? What brand are his shoes?
These were among the first questions a small group of art-loving 9 and 10-year-olds from Balmoral Primary School had when they walked, accompanied by several teachers, into Potters Park to "meet" the newly installed Boy Walking sculpture.
Artist Ronnie van Hout's 5.6m hyper-realist sculpture arrived on Friday – trucked and craned into position in the wee, small hours of the night – and is now walking toward ...
Van Hout, who used to live in the area, says the larger-than-life child strolls forward into the future with confidence and explores the notion of a child transitioning into adulthood.
The kids thought he was maybe heading to the nearby shops or KFC or McDonald's; one thought he might want to climb a neighbouring tree. They were more intrigued by how he was made, what from and what brand his shoes might be (they look like Adidas but aren't because they have the wrong number of stripes).