- The mural has been designed and made by GSA graduates, Cobolt Collective, and two final year GSA students
- It marks the publication of Douglas Stuart’s Booker Prize winning novel in paperback
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60ft x 30ft “Shuggie |
“It is beyond my wildest dreams to see my words adorning the city that inspired them.
I hope the mural inspires other weans to dream big with their creativity.
It’s definitely one of the proudest moments of my life.”
Douglas Stuart
A 30 ft high x 60 ft wide mural inspired by Douglas Stuart’s Booker Prize winning novel, Shuggie Bain, has been unveiled on a wall of Glasgow’s celebrated Barrowland Ball Room. The piece has been designed and made by Cobolt Collective (2015 Glasgow School of Art graduates Erin Bradley-Scott, Chelsea Frew and Kat Loudon) and features “Flourish”, a specially-designed typeface created by two final year GSA Communication Design students, Jack Batchelor and Ellie Bainbridge. The work was commissioned by Picador to mark the publication of the internationally-acclaimed novel in paperback.
“Having read ‘Shuggie Bain’ at the start of this year, we were beyond delighted to be asked to paint a mural to celebrate the powerfully beautiful novel set in our beloved hometown of Glasgow,” say Cobolt Collective. “The book is rich in vibrant visual stimuli and depicts nostalgic imagery of Glasgow in the 80s that has inspired the content of the piece.”
“Our mural includes the quote, “You’ll not remember the city you were too wee, but there’s dancing. All kinds of dancing’- words which come from a section of the book where Agnes is telling her son, Shuggie, about the brilliance and the beauty of Glasgow.”
“The image of Shuggie, which appears in the centre of the mural, is bringing to life the closing lines in the book where the protagonist twirls and dances in the street. The fireworks going off whilst he dances are another reference from the book, and also give a nod to the stars on the iconic Barrowland Ballroom sign (where the mural is painted). This famous Glasgow venue is referenced throughout the book, so to be able to paint it on the side of this building seems wholly fitting, giving Shuggie the centre stage in the city that he so greatly deserves.”
The typeface for the mural was inspired by Jack and Ellie’s reading of the novel. “When we were invited to be part of the project the first thing we did was to immerse ourselves in the book and the era in which is set,” they explain.
“One of the most ubiquitous typefaces of the era was ‘Compacta’. It can be found everywhere across 80’s Glasgow, from the merchandise window in the Barrowlands to Anti-Poll Tax demonstrations in the East End. It presents itself as a ‘masculine’, geometric form, rigidly structured, threatening even. There was a relationship we wanted to explore there, it felt like it keenly mirrored the contextual gender politics that Shuggie—who is described as ‘no right’ by those around him—was living through. ‘What use is a soft boy in a hard world?’ one character asks.
“We wanted the typeface to reflect the ‘break’ that Shuggie’s masculinity represents from the older, more toxic models of his selfish, absentee father, and how against all odds Shuggie manages to ‘flourish’ in a restrictive, disadvantaged and openly hostile environment.
“A real turning point in the design process was the description of the ‘happy confident loops’ in his mothers’ signature. Agnes’ imprint is all across Shuggie, she’s where many of his defining qualities stem from, most importantly his pride and his determination to survive and succeed. It made perfect sense to introduce her proud ‘flourishes’ into Compacta’s forms.
“Our letters, like Shuggie’s entire existence, are joyous acts of rebellion against their harsh, unforgiving roots; even as the bullies taunt him at his window, Shuggie still dances in his living room: ‘[…] it was in him, and as it poured out, he found he was helpless to stop it.’”
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| Shuggie dances Photo Jack Batchelor |
“It is beyond my wildest dreams to see my words adorning the city that inspired them. Glasgow, and the Barras, are at the very heart of Shuggie Bain,” says Douglas Stuart. The novel is a portrait of a working-class family from the East End, and their resilient Glaswegian spirit.
“I’m incredibly honoured by the beautiful artwork and lettering the Cobolt Collective and Glasgow School of Art students have created for the Barrowland Ballroom.
“I hope the mural inspires other weans to dream big with their creativity. It’s definitely one of the proudest moments of my life.”
“Shuggie Bain is a novel which has been described by Douglas Stuart as being, in part, a love-letter to Glasgow and we, his UK publisher, wanted to help bring about something lasting that would weave Shuggie Bain into the tapestry of the city, created by artists local to the area,” says Katie Bowden of Picador. “Working with Cobolt Collective and the students of the Glasgow School of Art has been a dream come true. Their sensitive engagement with the book, its characters and its story and their ambitious vision for how this project could be realised, from a custom font to a 30m mural, has resulted in beautiful pieces of art that locate Shuggie Bain in the streets from which it was born.”
“The Barrowland is a place that Agnes Bain, the beating heart of the novel, returns to in her mind when she wants to feel hopeful, and to remember the raucous fun of her youth. It is extraordinary to see her words realised on this iconic building, along with Shuggie’s hopeful flourish, and we hope it will be seen by many residents and visitors for years to come,” she adds
“Our graduates, Cobolt Collective, have been making a colourful contribution to Glasgow’s cityscape with their striking murals,” says Professor Penny Macbeth, Director of The Glasgow School of Art. “We are delighted that these talented young designers were selected to create a special response to Douglas Stuart’s acclaimed novel, Shuggie Bain, and for the opportunity that this project has given to two of our current Communication Design students.:
“This new mural, with its Flourish typeface specially created by Jack and Ellie, is latest in a long history of interventions that have been made in the city by Glasgow School of Art graduates. And what a wonderful place for it to be displayed – on one of Glasgow’s most celebrated music and dance venues.”
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For further GSA information contact:
Lesley Booth, 0779 941 4474 / press@gsa.ac.uk
For further information on Picador / the paperback edition of Shuggie Bain contact:
Camilla Elworthy, camilla.elworthy@macmillan.com / 07801 043423