Good Hands

Designed by artists David Bobier and Leslie Putnam, and installed in 2011, Good Hands honours the Tolpuddle Martyrs, considered originators of the British trade unionist movement in the 1830s. It was commissioned in collaboration with the London District Labour Union as part of the City of London’s Public Art Program.

The monument’s two hands — one older, one younger — pay tribute to six agricultural labourers from Tolpuddle (in Dorset, England) who founded the Friendly Society of Agricultural Labourers in violation of British laws prohibiting collective bargaining by workers. After the Tolpuddle Martyrs served time in Australian penal colonies, popular outrage and one of Britain’s first successful political marches led to their pardoning. Five of the six eventually resettled in London, Ontario.

Bobbier’s printmaking background influenced the linear style of this artwork. Unless one looks at the artwork from the front or the back, Good Hands appears to be an abstract convergence of flowing lines. To this point, Putnam and Bobier encourage the viewer to experience this artwork from as many different angles and perspectives as possible thereby inviting us to take our time with the process of apprehension.