The COP26 global climate summit is currently taking place only a short car ride away in the city of Glasgow for the next two weeks - something that has been described as the worlds 'last chance to bring climate change under control.' Almost 200 countries are being asked for their plans to cut emissions, and it could lead to major changes to our everyday lives.
With all of this focus on Scotland at the moment and the effects we all have on the environment, we wanted to take the opportunity to put the spotlight on one of our artists who has already raised this subject in one incredibly powerful piece of art in the last year.
The evocative 'Poseidon' by Rebel Bear sees the Greek God of the sea, who is often portrayed as regal and mighty, 'tainted' by the presence of plastic bags and bottles strewn around and floating by in waves around him. The image that Rebel Bear has produced illustrates how even the most powerful of Greek mythology would be no match for today's pollution problem. The original stencil was sprayed on Granton Pier in Edinburgh, directly above the water of the River Forth, a major river in central Scotland that, at 47 km long, drains into the North Sea. The piece can still be spotted on that very pier today, withstanding Scotland's particularly adverse weather conditions and being constantly battered by strong currents since 2019 - it serves as a stark reminder to those who visit the surrounding beach area that this problem is not going anywhere any time soon, so they must pick up their rubbish before they leave instead of further contributing to the problem.
More than 90% of plastic in Scottish seas come from Scottish littering on land and it has been found that Scottish littering puts about 1,000 tonnes of macro plastic into Scottish seas each year (uncertainty range 700 to 2,500 tonnes)
46% of the plastic entering the sea from the land on the east coast comes from the Forth catchment.
Rebel Bear's work is not only a form of art - but a political statement and something that will hopefully become a part of history instead of everyday life as the people in power try to look ahead to change our ways and save our world.
The work was also released as an original piece exclusively through Robertson Fine Art and is on display currently in our Edinburgh Gallery.
The artist also released a small number of special hand sprayed limited edition works stating:
"All profits will go to the sea life trust, to help remove plastic from our oceans. "