Taransay Street Mosaics,
Address:
Taransay Street
Category: Contemporary Public Art
10. Taransay Street Mosaics,
Kvaerner Shipyard, Govan
These huge mosaics were made in 1993 by ceramic artists Marion Brandis and Nick Martin, working with pupils from Hills Trust and St Anthony's Primary Schools. The high wall of Kvaerner shipyard which runs along Taransay Street used to be bare brick, which would have been very dull for the people living across the road. The artists worked with Govan Housing Association to develop the idea.
There are six mosaics in total. The two largest ones at either end of the street were designed by Marion and Nick. The four smaller murals were designed by pupils from the local Primary Schools. The designs had to be very exact, and so computers were used to make the final drawings. Each 1 inch tile on the mosaic represents one "pixel" of the computerised drawing.
These mosaics take the shipyards as their theme. The towering cranes dominate the area around the shipyard, and they have been used as a powerful symbol of Govan in these images. These mosaics are 3.72 metres x 9.6 metres.
