Boyle moulds taut tribute to human spirit Killer turned sculptor moulds
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Edinburgh Festival :
There is an endearing awkwardness about Jimmy Boyle, convicted murderer turned acclaimed sculptor and wine connoisseur. Here is a man who has achieved riches beyond an ex-con's wildest dreams, with his Rolls-Royce, second house in France, best-selling autobiography, and soon-to-be-published first novel.
Yet his late success has not brought vanity. Boyle, 52, is standing in front of his new sculptures, homage to his dark and violent past in the Gorbals, which form part of his first Edinburgh exhibition for 22 years, and his first in Britain since 1984. In Praise of the Human Spirit at the Demarco European Art Foundation blends humour and suffering in its muscular, taut depictions of people Boyle knew from those early days.
The most moving bronze, Towerblock, shows a man fighting to free himself from bricks that surround him to the waist. It echoes Boyle's own struggle, but hints at the reality for most of his contemporaries.
The exhibition springs out of the fateful meeting between Boyle and an artist sent into the experimental special unit at Barlinnie prison, where he ended up after being jailed for murder, and subsequently charged with the attempted murder of six prison officers following a 1973 jail riot.
"I'd been in solitary confinement for six-and-a-half years and I was put into the special unit. We wanted neutral people brought in to make sure there was no dirty work - we always felt there was a lot of brutality - so they brought in this woman. We hadn't seen a woman for years, so you can imagine what the screws were saying: 'You can't allow this, they'll rape her'. Meanwhile, we were getting our shirts pressed and our hair combed and saying to each other: 'Don't swear or she'll not come back.' She brought in 7lbs of clay and it was like a dam broke. I did a bust immediately of one of the other prisoners."
It was a revelation. Fourteen years after Boyle emerged from prison, his sculpture has won him an international reputation.These days, his limited edition bronzes sell for up to pounds 9,500.
But he has not forgotten his past. He has set up a trust to help up to 1,000 deprived children a year, and before that, founded the Gateway Exchange in Edinburgh as an advice and campaigning unit for young people at risk. His own son, James, a heroin addict, was stabbed to death two years ago.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments