Intro

Moving on from exploring Glasgow’s Necropolis, I went in search of a famous mural depicting Saint Mungo (patron saint and putative founder of Glasgow). I had heard this work was but a part of a larger project, Glasgow’s Mural Trail. But over the course of my first full day in Glasgow, and successive days, I discovered many other works beyond those of the Mural Trail. These artworks in my eyes transcends what might just be considered “graffiti,” exhibiting a high level of technical craft as well as expressing pointed social commentary, whimsy, and callouts to Glasgow’s rich history. I know the works I happened to stumble across represent a small fraction of the total corpus of this work in Glasgow, so the survey I present here is necessarily brief and incomplete. I have since come to learn some of the background behind these works, making it clear this work is a proud addition to the cultural and artistic tapestry of Glasgow.

Smug

”Smug” is the handle of Sam Bates, perhaps the highest profile artist whose work I discovered. Australian born, he has lived in Glasgow since the mid-2000s. His photorealistic style is instantly recognizable. Incredibly he works freehand with aerosol cans without the aid of projection or a grid. Several of his pieces are part of the Mural Trail. These include:

Saint Mungo

Following directions on Google Maps, I descended a set of stairs on a connecting path, and was awestruck beholding this compelling portrait of Saint Mungo filling a large part of a multistory building’s wall. The work drew me in with its vibe of gentle compassion and love. Mungo is presented as a robust youthful man in simple contemporary streetwear, with a knitted beanie and a hoodie sweater. He is smiling down at a small bird perched on his finger. The bird is a reference to one of the four miracles he is reported to have performed in Glasgow, restoring life to a bird his classmates had killed.

Saint Enoch (Thaney/Thenue)

Walking a bit further down the street, I soon encountered another awe-inspiring mural, covering the end wall of a residential housing building that looms over a carpark lot. It depicts an old and powerful woman amidst towering lavender foxglove flowers, gazing with serene wisdom at the viewer. Thaney (there are many variants to her name) was known as the mother of Mungo, and together they are considered co-patron saints and founders of Glasgow. Smug chose as his model the actress Fletcher Mathers, who portrayed Thaney in her wise mage aspect in the playwright/poet Rebecca Sharp’s play Mother Maiden Mage.

Thaney’s story is both sad and resilient: she was a sixth-century princess of the ancient Scottish kingdom of Gododdin. Raped in her youth, upon becoming pregnant her father had her hurled from a cliff. She survived, and was set adrift in a coracle on the Firth of Forth. Alighting at Culross she was given shelter at the community of Saint Serf, where she gave birth to Mungo. She and her son then went on to found the city of Glas Ghu (in Gaelic, “dear green place”).

Fellow Glasgow Residents

Turning down Albion Street I encountered another of Smug’s monumental works. This mural covers the entire side of a long wall above another carpark, and depicts a bucolic meadow/forest scene. There is a mushroom picking hiker (we just see their legs with booted feet and mushroom picking arm and hand), and many plants, and various animals, all seeming to burst through a cracked open portal in the wall.

I spent much time admiring this, as there were plentiful numbers of creatures and details to discover. A couple of lovely young women were also admiring this work, and I remarked to them that “Wow, that is one crazy looking squirrel!” (one of the denizens of this work). Laughing, they agreed it was, and asked me if there were more murals back the way I had come, which of course I assured them there were. In turn they mentioned there were also more murals before me, and directed me onwards…

Keeper of Light

A bit further on, peaking out from behind a carpark tucked between another building, I encountered Smug’s most massive work, “Keeper of Light.” Covering the entire vast wall of an eleven-story building, a finely adorned and bejeweled asian woman stares cooly out at the viewer. She holds a candlestick in one one hand, and a fancy cocktail in the other. Runes are glimpsed tattooed on her neck, adding a dash of nordic magic to her asian couture and person. This one also took a while to absorb!

Yardworks

The next day (my second full day in Glasgow), as I made my way down Ferry Road towards the Riverside Museum, I encountered a spray of additional murals and public artworks. These were under and about the elevated A814 freeway, as well as adorning the covered archways of a railway viaduct. I’ve since learned that many (most?) of these were sponsored/supported by Yardworks, a public arts initiative supporting graffiti/street art. I’m a bit sorry I didn’t know about Yardworks while I was there, as the umbrella organization/work/performance space SWG3 sounds really awesome. Guess I’ll have to go back…

The Rebel Bear

When I encountered this piece I wondered if this wasn’t a work by Bansky? It depicts a couple embracing as they apparently fall to their deaths down the concrete panels on the tall corner of a residential building. I’ve since come to learn this is in fact one of the works of an artist acclaimed as the Scottish Bansky, going by the nom d’artiste “The Rebel Bear.” His work has some controversy around it, as punchy work will.

Venemouse

During my perambulations about Glasgow both at the outset and end of my time in Scotland, I occasionally would come across cat oriented graffiti art. This is the work of another somewhat obscure local artist going by the handle Venemouse. I started documenting these because, well, cats. Need I say more?