Installation in Glasgow highlights ‘death’ of arts and heritage

Ashley Rawson, who has previously done installations including Donald Trump behind bars and Jesus Christ as a delivery driver, placed the image at various sites around the city between the Southside and the top of Sauchiehall Street.

Targeting buildings and arts venues which appeared to be abandoned or in trouble, the hat was hung at locations including The People’s Palace and Winter Gardens, the big G at Glasgow Green to represent the closure of the Glasgow School of Sport, Trongate 103, the ABC and the CCA.

Mr Rawson said: “As ever the best thing about doing an outdoor installation was the conversations I had with people.

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“Some conversations were a little despairing: for example the nice guy who had been a Friend of the People’s Palace but had pretty much ‘given up’.

“Another man outside Trongate 103 was more upbeat: ‘Glasgow always bounces back’ he said.

“Some people I spoke to had interesting perspectives on what the solutions might be. My artwork obviously hints at capital punishment and there was a sense from many that as well as the old north/south divide, Glasgow is now the victim of an East/West divide where the capital, Edinburgh receives preferential treatment and is accelerating ahead.

“One comment summed this up pretty well: ‘If Edinburgh Castle or the Walter Scott Monument had burnt down like Glasgow School of Art, would it have become a national emergency like in France with Notre Dame? I think so!’

“Another example mentioned was Glasgow’s Museums, their international significance and the fact that they are paid for by council tax while the National Museums in Edinburgh are funded centrally.

Hang the Hat in Shame at the scene of the Union Street fire (Image: Ashley Rawson)

“In England, Liverpool’s museums became centrally funded in 1986 so why couldn’t Glasgow have a similar deal: freeing up council tax for other important areas?

“An old argument in a similar vein also cropped up too. This was Glasgow’s increasingly diminished power since the breakup of the Strathclyde Region in the 1990s.

“One lady mentioned that Manchester was booming and that Glasgow should have a similar setup within Scotland.

“The piece doesn’t necessarily blame one particular party. It hints that we might all be collectively responsible and should all be ‘hanging the hat in shame’.

“Everything from that bit of gum spat onto a pavement to the wilful knocking down of the ABC’s beautiful Art Deco façade diminishes Glasgow. That said, better leadership and vision is surely the only answer.”