Mother Glasgow is a collection of 15 oil painting portraits by Scottish artist and musician Gerard Burns, unveiled for International Women’s Day
Mother Glasgow is a celebration, via 15 oil-painted portraits, of multiculturalism within the city of Glasgow, and the essential role of women in society. Artist Gerard Burns says: “In all of the various exhibitions I’ve been involved in, both here in Glasgow and around the world, I’ve used my portraits to tell stories… either about politicians, actors, individuals from the world of business and sport, or simply individuals who’ve come into my life for one reason or another.
“In this case, each of these paintings and the subjects depicted has an important story to tell. Stories about the importance of immigration, of multiculturalism and the role of women in our society. Stories which matter now more than ever in these increasingly polarised times.”
Launching on International Women’s Day, the exhibition features fifteen portraits of women from all over the world, who have chosen Glasgow as their home. French ballet dancer Claire Souet, Ranjit Kaur of Indian eatery Ranjit’s Kitchen, Gina Eusebi of Eusebi’s Deli, Kuldip Kohli – mother of actor Sanjeev – and Paulina, a nine year old Ukrainian girl who recently arrived in the city, are among the subjects of the paintings.
At the launch of the collection of images that took place yesterday at Barras Art and Design, Gerard told me: “In this exhibition, I did not intend to dig too deep into the politics or into any of that. Essentially, what I wanted to do with my paintings was to tell 15 different stories. I didn’t choose the women. I simply put this out to the world and the women found me via various different roots.
“As a consequence, I’ve entered into 15 different lives, 15 different adventures, and got to know these amazing women. And in terms of the women who’ve been here for a long time, incredible stories. I’ll give you an example. Gina Eusebi came here at age of 17, spoke no English, lived with her mother-in-law, worked in a shop, and basically brought up a family, astonishing stuff. I mean, completely astonishing. So the paintings are what they are. I’ve made 15 portraits, but for me, the journey so far has been really what this has been about.”
With pressures on the creative sector, I asked Gerard about Glasgow as a city that supports artists and musicians: “Glasgow’s my hometown. I can only speak for Glasgow, but I personally think that the government could be doing a bit more to support artists, to support creatives. It is incredibly difficult to make a living as an artist. Incredibly difficult.
It’s even more difficult to make a living as a musician. Now, every single person, seeing this, every single person in this room, they will define themselves in some way by the music they listen to, by the paintings they have on the walls.
“There has to be some way for society to support artists and creatives. The space is getting tighter and tighter, as far as I can see. I’ve been doing this for a long time and I’ve got quite a strong brand. So I’m at a slightly different point, but for a young artist starting out just now, it’s a tough time.
“I think all of us, we need to recognise that if we want all of this art and culture in our lives, that we need to be prepared to support it.”
The exhibition will be at The Glasgow Collective, 11 am till 4 pm, 9th to 13th March and then The Glasgow Art Club 10 am till 5 pm,1st June to 6th July
The work will also be exhibited at the Scottish Parliament in August and the Mitchell Library in September.
