Art On The Subway

Passing daily through the city, there is so much to see - hundreds of people roam the streets, adverts smother our buildings and pigeons infest the skies. I see this every day, but i'm not left with the memory of anything in particular. I sometimes wonder where one person might be going, or what they’re doing, but unless they’re a Johnny Depp look-a-like, I forget about them as soon as they’re out of sight.

This weekend, while waiting in the underground for the next train, I expected to get in a carriage, sit with my head down and listen to my i-pod. The train pulled into the station and I was drawn to one particular carriage. Not because there were more seats or that the Johnny Depp look-a-like I’m trying to find happened to be there, but because I could see through the window, a huge globe, made from hundreds of origami birds, swinging from the ceiling. I walked into the carriage and the lady whose creation this was apologised for the obstruction. I assured her that it was anything but, and that I was delighted to be in its presence. As the train moved away from the station, the globe started swinging all around the carriage, only just missing the noses of the other passengers, making this work look like it was specifically made to hang in the interior of this carriage.


We started talking and it turned out she’d been at an origami workshop that day and her work was the result of an intensive few hours of paper folding. A few more people in our carriage took interest in this origami wonder and so the woman proceeded to hand out little origami birds she had spare in her handbag. As I got off the train I couldn’t help but feel like what would have been an uncomfortable, lonely journey was made so enjoyable by the presence of this piece of work.

Its moments like this that I will always remember, and carry with me day to day. In an artistic city like Glasgow, the ordinary is met with the extra-ordinary and is a talking point for those present. Art brings us together in a way we should celebrate, and not take for granted. So keep your eyes peeled, and the extra-ordinary things will jump out at you and make your day that little bit better.