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A Square Gogh

George McDermott meets an artist who is making waves in Glasgow. Ross Muir is self-taught and has struggled with drug addiction all his life, but his art has proved inspirational.

Ross Muir is a self-taught artist who has struggled with drug addiction all his life. Despite the turmoil, he began painting at the age of 30 when he was given a set of paints as a gift. He began deconstructing famous works of art in a Scottish context, imbuing a modern personality into the lauded and the familiar.

He struck gold when he painted Vincent Van Gogh in an Adidas tracksuit, the struggles of the famous painter brought up to date to the streets of Glasgow. The image is now infamous throughout Scotland and found a second revival throughout the first lockdown in 2020 with variations of his 'Square Gogh' painting decorating cash machines, buses and trains throughout Glasgow with the aptly titled message, 'Jist Gogh Hame'. It was an immediate hit with his website crashing due to the volume of people trying to buy their own square of Scottish Gogh.

Presenter: George McDermott
Producer: Mark Rickards

A Whistledown Scotland production for 成人快手 Radio 4

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28 minutes

On radio

Tomorrow 00:15

Broadcasts

  • Tue 12 Nov 2024 15:30
  • Tomorrow 00:15