Great Junction Street

Category

Museums & Galleries Item

Item no

20721

Title

Great Junction Street

Description

A richly detailed painting of a 1930's building. The Mecca bingo hall sign hangs across the curved entrance to a building which was, obviously once the epitome of architectural style in its heyday. The artist has highlighted this architectural gem with sense of pensive resonance. There are no people in the painting but the work is filled with a ethereal human presence. An empty bus stop can be seen to the left hand side of the building and two small shops with their shutters closed. The building is highlighted in a glow of light as a vibrant blue sky takes up most of the frame around the building.

Artist / maker

McFadyen, Jock

Date

1998

Location

City Art Centre

Accession number

CAC1999/1

From his more figurative works of the 1980's of the city underworld in a gritty realist style. McFadyen has concentrated more on the urban environment rather than focussing on figures. The Mecca Bingo Hall in Great Junction Street, Leith was built in the 1930's as a cinema, and McFadyen has chosen a perspective which alludes to the building's former status. The building is partly abandoned, and the juxtapositions of bright Bingo signs and the shuttered windows make a stark impact, challenging our social responsibility.
Purchased 1999, with Jean F Watson Bequest Funds and assistance from the National Fund for Acquisitions administered with government funds by the National Museums of Scotland.

By permission of Jock McFadyen

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Related subjects

Places > Edinburgh areas > Leith

Places > Scotland > Edinburgh