
A hidden street art commission
An illuminating neon light on Calton Road, A Drama In Time is one of a number of permanent commissions from Edinburgh Art Festival which will take your breath away.
Situated beneath a railway bridge, this dark spot offers an ideal setting for Graham Fagen’s captivating neon light work which presents a narrative illuminating a journey of a life and questioning what lies beyond. It is centred on the story of the Roselle, a ship that sailed from the Port of Leith to Kingston, Jamaica in 1786. Robert Burns had booked a passage on the boat, but never sailed.
The piece takes its name from a statement by pioneering environmentalist and planner Patrick Geddes, that ‘a city is more than a place in space, it is a drama in time’. It is apt that the work is positioned at the bottom of Jacob’s Ladder, a steep set of steps which link the Old Town – an area of the city Geddes worked to improve in the nineteenth century – and the New Town.
A Drama In Time was commissioned by Edinburgh Art Festival for the 2016 festival. The piece is accessible 24 hours a day, every day. To find out more about this and other permanent commissions, visit the Art Festival website.
Image credit: Ross Fraser Mclean / Studio Roro
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