A man having an autistic shutdown in an art gallery has been mistaken for Auguste Rodin’s The Thinker, sources have revealed.
Naveed Azkhat, 32, became overwhelmed at the busy, brightly lit gallery and decided to rest on a chair in one of the exhibition rooms as his shutdown took hold. His hunched, rigid posture led visitors to mistake him for the famous sculpture, and he soon attracted a crowd.
Paula Mulberry, 65, who was visiting the gallery, said: “He was the very picture of deep thought and introspection. His form conveyed the private conflict of a man lost to his inner world, possibly never to return.”
Curator Ben Espenson, 53, also mistook Azkhat for Rodin’s masterpiece. He said: “When I first saw him, I thought, ‘I don’t remember us getting a cast of this sculpture.’ But it was unmistakable: the bronze sheen of his skin, those stony eyes gazing into oblivion… I swear he didn’t breathe the whole time I was looking at him.”
Azkhat said: “‘Bronze’? Mate, I’m from Pakistan. And since when did The Thinker wear a Uniqlo fleece and ear defenders?”
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