Mural inspired by Booker Prize novel unveiled at famed ballroom
A mural inspired by Booker Prize winning novel Shuggie Bain has been unveiled at the famous Barrowland Ballroom which inspired the book.
Author Douglas Stuart, 44, was delighted by the tribute in Glasgow's East End, where the novel is set, and said it was one of the proudest moments of his life.
The Barras flea market, where the ballroom sits, is 'at the heart of Shuggie Bain', according to the writer, who said he hoped it would inspire 'weans to dream big'.
Graduates from Glasgow School of Art painted the image, including a quote from it - 'You'll not remember the city you were too wee, but there's dancing. All kinds of dancing'.
An image of Shuggie dancing is central to the design along with an explosion of stars in a nod to the neon decor on the front of the Barrowland Ballroom.
Mr Stuart said: "It is beyond my wildest dreams to see my words adorning the city that inspired them. Glasgow, and the Barras, are at the very heart of Shuggie Bain.
"The novel is a portrait of a working-class family from the East End, and their resilient Glaswegian spirit. I'm incredibly honoured by the beautiful artwork and lettering the Cobolt Collective and Glasgow School of Art students have created for the Barrowland Ballroom.
"I hope the mural inspires other weans to dream big with their creativity. It's definitely one of the proudest moments of my life."
The 30 ft high x 60 ft wide mural was commissioned by Picador to mark the publication of the internationallyacclaimed novel in paperback.
Katie Bowden of Picador said: "Shuggie Bain is a novel which has been described by Douglas Stuart as being, in part, a love-letter to Glasgow and we, his UK publisher, wanted to help bring about something lasting that would weave Shuggie Bain into the tapestry of the city, created by
artists local to the area.
"The Barrowland is a place that Agnes Bain, the beating heart of the novel, returns to in her mind when she wants to feel hopeful, and to remember the raucous fun of her youth. It is extraordinary to see her words realised on this iconic building, along with Shuggie's hopeful flourish, and we hope it will be seen by many residents and visitors for years to come."
The book was rejected by
32 editors before it was finally published to huge critical acclaim and took more than a decade to write.
Mr Stuart grew up in 1980s Glasgow as the gay son of an alcoholic mother and now lives in New York. The novelist has said many details in the book are drawn from his own life and acknowledgements to his family hint at the parallel.
He worked as a fashion designer before his breakthrough success with Shuggie
Bain which won the Booker last year.
The 44-year-old ook inspiration from fellow Glaswegian James Kelman, who until last year was the only Scot to have won the Booker Prize, for How Late It Was, How Late, a quarter of a century ago. Stuart has said that the novel changed his life and has spoken of seeing “my people, my dialect, on the page”.