It’s a bright artwork with three very distinctive Doric words on it – “Far Ye Gan” – and has already attracted a positive response from residents.
But the new mural which has recently been unveiled at Mounthooly in Aberdeen isn’t just a one-off piece of graffiti, but the latest in a sequence of designs across the north-east, aimed at lifting people’s spirits, which have been produced by Outlines Collective.
As the success of the annual Nuart festival has demonstrated, there is no shortage of visual, original talent in the city and Kirsty Lawie and Naomi Christie have combined to help the process after initially meeting at the WayWORD festival in 2019.
They forged an immediate bond, established Outlines in 2021 and held a three-day public workshop, attended by more than 250 people. And ever since, oblivious to the problems posed by a global pandemic, they have been running sessions and completing a variety of striking murals for different groups and schools all over the region.
The duo’s ambition is to transform plain, prosaic walls into a pleasant shock to the system by joining forces with communities to design and implement murals which reflect them and the qualities they share in their communities.
For example, ‘Love Wins’ was chosen by Hazlehead Equality Alliance as a positive and welcoming message for LGBTQ+ pupils, and ‘Far ye gan’ was a fun and relevant reflection of the people who live next to (and drive around) Mounthooly.
The pair are swimming with the tide
As Kirsty said: “It took us 15 hours to paint over two days with lots of logistics to organise. We probably spent upwards of 30 hours over several weeks researching, sketching and organising, but this was our biggest piece yet.
“I had the initial idea about four or five months ago, but it took time to get the ball rolling and approach Dee Swim Club with the idea. Naomi and I thought that the wall was the perfect canvas for a fun and funny slogan which would speak to so many people who were going round the roundabout and thinking ‘far ye gan?’.
“We even had one woman stop us and tell us that she loved the mural because ‘I say this all the time’ which was really special.”
Passionate about the art scene
They relish working with people who might otherwise have shied away from spray painting. Yes, it’s a fun medium, but you have be careful where you do it.
Kirsty has no doubt that the Aberdeen landscape is benefiting from such idiosyncratic artists as Skeps, “who does beautiful portraiture”, Airhead, “who has such a unique and colourful style”, and V2K, who is really innovative and creative”.
But she has a warning for those who believe these individuals will carry on indefinitely without being bolstered by commissions and some recognition.
As she said: “We are both really passionate about the art scene in Aberdeen and think there should be more funding and opportunities to allow local artists to stay here.
“Creatives will always be innovating, but they may leave and be creative elsewhere.”
It’s a reminder that even a spray can-do attitude can’t survive on fresh air.
Further information is available at outlinescollective.co.uk