An artist with PhD from the University has unveiled a monumental new piece which is set to become a familiar sight to drivers on Scotland’s busiest motorway. 

Kate Robinson launched the nine-metre sculpture, titled Woman Man Sun Moon, at an official ceremony on Monday 9 May. The work, commissioned by industrial real estate company ProLogis and fabricated by Gilmour Ecometal and Lanarkshire-based Support Solutions, overlooks the westbound M8 at junction 6.

The sculpture shows a woman and a man standing on a rounded mound of earth holding the sun and waxing and waning moons.   

Kate Robinson beneath 'Woman Man Sun Moon' Kate said: “I’m delighted that my work will become a regular landmark for commuters and visitors to Glasgow, the city where I grew up, studied, and have lived all my life.

“I still maintain close links with the University of Glasgow and I’m proud to have been a postgraduate student.

“The appearance of the sun in Woman Man Sun Moon is influenced by the work of Athanasius Kircher, whose books I discovered in the University’s Special Collections Department.”

Kate’s sculpture is already on public display in some of the city’s most well-known locations, including Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Govan Cross and Celtic Park, where statues of the club’s founder Brother Walfrid and legendary player Jimmy Johnstone are landmarks for tens of thousands of fans. Her work has also been frequently exhibited across Europe and the USA.

Although Kate frequently sculpts in bronze or stone, she also produces temporary works in materials such as sand or ice which have been showcased several times in Glasgow as well as overseas in countries including Latvia, Estonia, and Holland.

She began her career as an artist after graduating from the Glasgow School of Art in 1989. She was awarded a PhD in Classics and Humanities Computing from the University in 2002.

Three of Kate’s works will be on display in at the University’s Charity Art Sale at the Memorial Chapel between Wednesday 1 June and Tuesday 14 June, along with

pieces from artists including Jett Vivere, John Lowrie Morrison, Gerard Burns, Anne Devine and Selma Rebus.

For more information on Kate and her work, visit her website at www.seedbed.net For more details on her M8 sculpture, visit www.womanmansunmoon.com

First published: 11 May 2011

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