Glasgow City Murals

GaryLaird

GaryLaird

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Gary Laird
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Thought I would start a 'Personal Project' by documenting the various Glasgow city murals that have been appearing in the city in an attempt to brighten things up. I think they are quite popular with photograhers as I met quite a few doing the same thing as I but so far I dont see any being posted on these forums. While picturing the actual murals I wanted to try to document their settings. Most are trully works of art and so cleverly done. Murals started appearing around 2014 in the run up to the commonwealth games but have now be extended with many being commissioned to brighten up the gable ends of buildings that Glasgow has a surplus off. It was the murals of Billy Conolly which was covered in a TV documentory earlier this year that first peaked my interest and on investigating further I discovered that Glasgow City council actually now promote a mural trail...all within walking distance around the city centre. Here's a link: https://www.glasgow.gov.uk/citycentremurals

Just a word about Glasgow. I'm not a Glaswegian nor do I live there so this view is very much an 'outsiders' opinion. Its a great city and well worth a visit from a photographers perspective. Superb old buildings from Glasgows rich industrial past, great Victorian city parks and big efforts are being made in the regeneration and development of the sites of the 60's demolition carnage that destroyed much of Glasgow, worse than any air raid! I think only now is the city starting to recover from this. Its also one of the most friendly (If you remove alchohol from the equation and avoid any day with a local footbal match being played :)). You will not find a better sense of humour.....classic sarcastic Scot's with the ability to laugh at yourself big time!

I should recount a recent encounter while taking a picture of one of the murals which happened to be right opposite a city pub. A few folks standing outside 'having a fag'. As I started taking pictures I knew something was going to be said:

"Hey big yin, whit are ye taking pictures of that crap fer"
I give a smile...thinking here we go!
"Here...hay a go at this yin here.....she's much better looking"
Turning slightly I see a middle aged wifey in the crowd of smokers with the joker pointing at her.
"I....she'd be game"
Lots of laughter from the crowd.....I join in politely. Continuing to snap away.
"I......best of all she's only 20 quid an hour"
Fits of laughter.....and that includes the wee wifey!

Certainly not PC but you can't help but laugh!!

So back to the murals. I'll post them in no particular order....other then the date they were shot. Some are very tricky to give any kind of context to...being down narrow little lanes, obscured by security fenses or in many cases covered by a line of parked cars....I will also try to give some info about the murals and their location in the city.....so here goes!
 
1. University of Strathclyde

First set of murals are on the University of Strathclyde buildings along George Street by local company Art Pistol with street artists Rogue-One and Ejek.

On corner of George street and North Portland Street. Depicts a lecture theatre.
20171105-P1170987.jpg by Gary Laird, on Flickr

A mural of a Dansken equatorial telescope which is a tribute to the nautical telescope that used to be on the top floor in what was the Royal Technical College
20171105-P1180003.jpg by Gary Laird, on Flickr

This mural called the Land Ship, depicts a mock navigation bridge which had been built on the roof of the School of Navigation in the Royal Technical College, Glasgow.
20171105-P1180028.jpg by Gary Laird, on Flickr
 
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Great work Gary.
My hometown is not that far from Glasgow. On my various visits home I've photographed a few of these murals. All equally brilliant!

Is there more to come in your project? Do you intend to continue documenting them?
 
blakester said:
Great work Gary.
My hometown is not that far from Glasgow. On my various visits home I've photographed a few of these murals. All equally brilliant!

Is there more to come in your project? Do you intend to continue documenting them?
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Hi Blakester, yes a lot more to come :)....thanks!
 
A great first post to kick off the project. I live around half an hour away and have photographed a couple of the murals myself, though binge that you've posted thus far. I didn't even know they existed, much less that Glasgow CC were promoting a trail of such exhibits (?).

Will be following this one closely. As above a great start [emoji106]
 
Ian W said:
A great first post to kick off the project. I live around half an hour away and have photographed a couple of the murals myself, though binge that you've posted thus far. I didn't even know they existed, much less that Glasgow CC were promoting a trail of such exhibits (?).

Will be following this one closely. As above a great start [emoji106]
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Hi Ian. Well I have taken pictures of most but not all. After I have posted mine you can maybe fill in the blanks :)
 
2. St Mungo

One of my favourites. The art work is stunning.....the light on the face is superbly done! By Australian artist SMUG
On the High Street just off George St.

Glasgow's patron saint with a modern slant! Depicting the story that St Mungo restored life to a robin killed by some of his classmates. Nearby is Glasgow Cathedral, built on the supposed final resting place of the saint!

20171105-P1180017.jpg by Gary Laird, on Flickr
 
3. Hip Hop Marionettes

A clever mural by Rogue-One. On the corner of George St and John St.
Supposedly influenced by one of the Beastie Boys, LP covers

23919332107_5815d1222b_o.jpg
 
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4. Badminton
Commissioned for the 2014 commonwealth games. The Mural features Scottish player Kieran Merrilees. Gracing the end wall of a building in Wilson Street and is by Australian street artist Guido Van Helten.

20171105-P1180065.jpg by Gary Laird, on Flickr
 
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Really like the detail and processing on this one. Keep them coming!
 
5. Spaceman

On New Wynd off the Trongate. This ones very difficult to get a full picture of as the 'Wynd' is very narrow. The fact that I caught a couple of local 'worthies' hanging about down the Wynd (giving me evils) adds a bit to the picture.
The mural is by Recoat and Ali Wylie


20171105-P1180129.jpg by Gary Laird, on Flickr
 
6. Honey I Shrunk The Kids.....I'm Sorry

A superb mural on Mitchel Street....just off Argyle Street. By Australian artist SMUG (Sam Bates).
Can't find any info on what the background to this mural is. The girl is in the process of picking something very small from the ground....but what. Maybe that's the point...a comment about Glasgow streets ? :facepalm:

20171105-P1180167.jpg by Gary Laird, on Flickr
 
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7. Wind Power
Designed to celebrate the diversity of sustainable energy. This ones is also on Mitchell Street and is by Rogue-One & Art Pistol. Not sure if the line of bins was part of the overall installation......but then again with art you never know ;)

20171105-P1180160.jpg by Gary Laird, on Flickr
 
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8. Study Of A Woman In Black
On the corner of Bridgegate Path and Salt Market. Cleverly done I guess but not my favourite :) It is by James Klinge in collaboration with Art Pistol.
It was when taking this shot that I was heckled by the fag smokers outside the boozer opposite as described in my first post :D

20171105-P1180154.jpg by Gary Laird, on Flickr
 
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9. Billy Connolly - Glasgow's Favourite Son

There were three art works commissioned by BBC Scotland to celebrate the comedians 75th birthday and all featured in a BBC documentary shown earlier this year. It was sad to see Connolly so effected by Parkinsons disease and also battling cancer. Still displaying a great sense of humour though! Scotland greatest export!

Billy Connolly - A mural created by Rogue One from the original art work of John Byrne. Byrne, an old friend of Connolly painted him several times, the first was for an album cover when he was in the band the Humblebums...which included Gerry Rafferty. Its facing a car park on Osborne Street. The artwork features the line "Fling a chucky in the watter, see the baggy minnies scatter" which is a reference to a song Connolly used to sing many years before he became famous.
20171105-P1180115.jpg by Gary Laird, on Flickr

Dr Connolly I Presume? - A mural reproduction from a painting by Jack Vettriano again by Rogue One. The image is a screen capture of a scene of Connolly's TV series...'A World Tour Of Scotland' from 1994 on a stormy day near John O'Groats. On Dixon Street on the gable wall of the Hootenanny pub. The beer garden beside the pub now called 'Billy's Beer Garden'!
20171105-P1180241.jpg by Gary Laird, on Flickr

Big Yin - Its a blow up of a photograph taken by Rachel Maclean. She had Connolly dress up in some weird 'Bonny Prince Charlie' inspired attire.....'completely over the top'..... I guess like the Big Yin always was. His image was layered over the background shot of a fish and chip shop! I understand this is a foil blow-up installed on the gable end of a building around 151 Gallowgate. Not strictly a mural. To me this just does not work blown-up like this. There is so much detail which you can see in the original photograph that is now lost and I think was important to understand what the artist was trying to achieve.
20171107-P1180401.jpg by Gary Laird, on Flickr

'Celebrated Son' -I will include a fourth image of Connolly here. Not actually a mural but more a 'metal relief' of Connolly. Created by artist Andy Scott and commissioned by Sanctuary Scotland Housing Association. It's installed on a modern highrise block in Anderson near where Connolly used to live and overlooks the shipyards where he used to work. Unveiled in 2011 and made from 1.5miles of 6mm steel strip welded together. Fantastic work and very fitting since Connolly himself was a welder.
20171107-P1180386.jpg by Gary Laird, on Flickr
 
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Fantastic photos Gary , beautiful colours .
I saw that program on the paintings of Billy Connolly , excellent.
 
BJP said:
Fantastic photos Gary , beautiful colours .
I saw that program on the paintings of Billy Connolly , excellent.
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Thanks for the kind words Baz!
 
10. Glasgow's Panda

Down a narrow Gordons Lane off Mitchell Lane. By street artist James Klinge who also did the woman in black mural (8). After Edinburgh's claim to fame with its Giant Pandas at the zoo......Glasgow now also features a Giant Panda.
The lane was very dark late in the day so had to bump up the ISO considerably.

20171105-P1180256.jpg by Gary Laird, on Flickr
 
Gary, these are just incredible. I love the all the different styles of work, the diverse themes....

So looking forward to seeing a lot more of them
 
IanD said:
Gary, these are just incredible. I love the all the different styles of work, the diverse themes....

So looking forward to seeing a lot more of them
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Thanks Ian...much appreciated!
 
Dave70D said:
Just stunning the lot of these Garry, out of the lot so far my favourite is St Mungo as that imo is stunningly beautiful.
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Thanks Dave. Yes I agree....its a really stunning mural...how they work on that scale to produce such great artworks is beyond me :)
 
11. Most Economical TAXI

Another one on Mitchell Street just down the road from 'I shrunk the kids'. Its by Rogue-One and reflects a potential idea for environmentally friendly transport :) Apparently the artist painted the brick wall background :eek: its so well done I did not notice while taking this snap!

20171105-P1180189.jpg by Gary Laird, on Flickr
 
These murals are my kind of art.

Did you get any kids saying 50p to watch your car mister, it happened in the old days if you didn’t pay you regretted it.
 
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There is an authorized " mural squad" in Montréal that produce
great quality work in a different way (culture oblige!) but these,
Gary, are awesome and their captures are darn cool too! (y)(y)
 
futurelegend said:
These murals are my kind of art.

Did you get any kids saying 50p to watch your car mister, it happened in the old days if you didn’t pay you regretted it.
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Not had this experience yet.....still time though :eek:
 
Kodiak Qc said:
•



There is an authorized " mural squad" in Montréal that produce
great quality work in a different way (culture oblige!) but these,
Gary, are awesome and their captures are darn cool too! (y)(y)
Click to expand...

Thank you sir! Yes it seems murals have become quite popular. We are currently in Spain for the winter and while 'old style' graffiti is still a large blot on the landscape here we have seen quite a few 'proper' murals that have been done in an effort to brighten things up and prevent the all too frequent 'tagging' that goes on!
 
12. Maryhill Panther
This one does not appear on the official mural trail as its not really in the city centre. Its on Maryhill Rd. Comissioned by Maryhill Community Council, the work was completed in 2014 by Art Pistol and Rogue One Graffiti. I love this work....giving the impression that the Panther is walking over the adjoining roof top!

20171107-P1180265.jpg by Gary Laird, on Flickr
 
13. Scottie Dog & Bee
Again off the mural trail and on Maryhill Rd almost directly opposite the Panther above. By the same artists and commissioned at the same time. Really nice fun mural.

20171107-P1180282.jpg by Gary Laird, on Flickr
 
the woman in black the pub is the old ship bank it been there many years the pub lol i seen the guy making it
 
hoochy1 said:
the woman in black the pub is the old ship bank it been there many years the pub lol i seen the guy making it
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well still seems to be popular!
 
14. Glasgow Tiger
Down on the banks of the Clyde off Custom House Quay. This one by James Klinge and Art Pistol which replaced an earlier tiger Mural which had been created in 2010 as part of Chinese new year celebrations. Apparently took three days to complete. A favourite for folks getting there picture taken in the mouth of the tiger...there was quite a queue while I was there!

20171105-P1180234.jpg by Gary Laird, on Flickr
 
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That prowling Panther is just stunning
Almost 3D effect.
Brilliant artist effect and great use of light and shade to give that depth.
 
reheat module said:
That prowling Panther is just stunning
Almost 3D effect.
Brilliant artist effect and great use of light and shade to give that depth.
Click to expand...

Yes totally agree.....very clever stuff!
 
15. Tennents Brewery
Tennent's Wellpark Brewery has been decorated with murals along its Duke Street facing perimeter wall. I was interested to read that the site had been a Tennents brewery since the 1790's! Some great stuff here relating to historical adverts and packaging.......the larger lovelies on the beer tins take me back...as a youngster in the early 70's I clearly remember the ladies portraits on the cans of my fathers tennents larger, which for some 'strange' reason fascinated me ;) A whole site dedicated to the history of the ' larger lovelies' http://www.cannyscot.com/
These murals are not on the city trail as there are a bit further out. There are more than featured here and I need to revisit this site! All murals by SMUG!

20171107-P1180418.jpg by Gary Laird, on Flickr

20171107-P1180441.jpg by Gary Laird, on Flickr

20171107-P1180449.jpg by Gary Laird, on Flickr

20171107-P1180423.jpg by Gary Laird, on Flickr
 
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16. The Swimmer
Underneath the Kingston Bridge we have the swimming mural that was done for the 2014 Commonwealth games. It by Sam Bates (SMUG). I like the setting of this shot with the bridge supports above and the road below!

20171110-P1180536.jpg by Gary Laird, on Flickr
 
17. The Gorbals Vampire
Inspired by real life events when back in 1954 masses of children went out on the hunt for the 7 feet tall Gorbals Vampire in the local graveyard (Southern Necropolis). This was reported in the local newspapers of the day. The hysteria believed to have been started by the American comic books which had just started to be imported. A competition was held in 2016 by the ScottishPower Foundation with the Citizens Theatre for local school children to design a mural celebrating the legend of the Gorbals Vampire which also co-incided with the launch of a play which told the story of the vampire. The winning design was by 16 yr old Ella Bryson and the mural was brought to life by Art Pistol.

Located on the junction of Ballater st & St Lukes Place, the mural fills in one arch of the brick railway bridge.

20171110-P1180478.jpg by Gary Laird, on Flickr
 
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18. You’re having a giraffe (laugh)

At 577 Shettleston Road, this mural was commissioned by Shettleston Housing Association, the plan for the mural was developed by pupils at Eastbank Academy with the final mural design being completed by Art Pistol. The intention was to give visitors something memorable to welcome them!

20171110-P1180474.jpg by Gary Laird, on Flickr
 
Yet another amazing mural Gary - no pun intended but these really are all works of art
 
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