Output details

Cathedral

‘Cathedral’, commissioned by Inverness Old Town Art (IOTA) and Highland Council, is an experiment that uses the creation of an art installation to interpret the synergies between the local identities expressed in street art, and public art. Whereas street art enjoys an illegal, cult status, public art must formally engage very different processes and stakeholders to achieve a successful outcome.

In January 2010, Inglis was selected to turn a retaining wall supporting the Crown Road as it led down into the High Street in Inverness, from an eyesore into a 'crowning glory' expressing some of the stories, issues, and beliefs of the people of the city and its surrounding landscape. The commission led to a wall installation covering 275 square metres with project funding of £20k.

IOTA is dedicated to engaging the public and bringing contemporary art to the Highlands of Scotland. IOTA creates and brokers opportunities for public art projects through forging unexpected alliances and supporting work about and in response to the Highlands. IOTA is funded by The Highland Council, Inverness Common Good Fund and Creative Scotland.

Inglis has experimented with street art in diverse situations, for example in streets in New Delhi (‘Culture X’, 2009), where, since people actually live on them, it becomes a sort of home décor. For ‘Cathedral’ Inglis worked with local historians, businessmen, young people, residents of Crown Road and community workers to unearth the stories the wall painting would come to tell.

These stories, including ancient mythologies and contemporary protests, were then visually interpreted and collaged by Inglis, and painted onto the wall. The result, an ‘open work’ in the words of Georgina Coburn of IOTA, is ‘a work of public art that thankfully raises more questions than it answers.’