This past weekend, artist Christy Gast unveiled her 12-foot, bronzed fiberglass Self Portrait As The Barefoot Mailman sculpture at Bal Harbour Founder’s Circle as part of the community’s “Unscripted” public art series. The piece nods South Florida’s legendary barefoot mailmen, who walked the route between Palm Beach and Miami in the 1880s, before there were roads and Henry Flagler’s famed railway.
Gast’s submission idea was born when she happened across a historic plaque describing these contracted postmen. As she began to research the topic, she learned that the “Unscripted” sites overlapped with the old delivery route. “The idea of being alone and walking on the beach was really romantic for me,” says Gast. “I wanted to play with that concept.” Play she did: to add a personal touch, Gast used herself as a model (with the help of a high-tech 3D scanner) and turned the piece on its head, literally. “To me, it resembles an hourglass, which is another way of measuring time,” she explains.
More on the Ocean Drive website at: http://oceandrive.com/christy-gast-sculpts-barefoot-mailman