by Alison Campsie, The Herald
You just can't take the boys out of Gorbals. Yesterday, a little
piece of the Glasgow neighbourhood's well-documented social history
was reborn and set in bronze and chrome.
A famous 1960s image by photographer Oscar Marzaroli, which
shows three young boys playing in the street wearing high heels,
has been recreated by sculptor and artist Liz Peden, a lifelong
Gorbals resident.
Three young local lads - Lee Barton, 12, Joe Ridge, 11 and Nicky
Giblin, 12 - were used as models for The Gorbals Boys statue and
one of the original Marzaroli subjects, Ian Docherty, now 50, was
at the unveiling.
Mr Docherty, a plumber who now lives in Motherwell, did not
realise he had been photographed by Marzaroli until he was in his
thirties and his mother bought a postcard of the print from
Kelvingrove Museum.
"I said to my mum that photo will make me famous' and I think
you can say that is true now," he said yesterday.
Mr Docherty, who said he thought he got the high heels from his
mother's wardrobe, said: "We were just kidding on that we were
women at the time, I promise I've not worn them since.
"We used to live in Kidson Street next to the shop that is in
the photograph. I remember it well. We just made use of what we had
then. Those were the best days.
"I am over the moon with what has happened here. I feel like
putting an alarm on the statue to protect it or setting up a
watchtower. I think it is amazing that me just playing in the
street has ended up with this."
His mother Betty Docherty, 75, said: "The statues are good for
Gorbals. Whatever happens, whatever changes, talk of Gorbals
doesn't go away. My son thinks he is a right star now. I think he
got the high heels from my wardrobe, but lots of things in those
days were taken from the house to play with."
Reluctantly taking centre stage yesterday was the artist behind
The Gorbals Boys, which sits on the junction of Cumberland Street
and Queen Elizabeth Gardens. The figures rest in shiny chrome
shoes, which are illuminated by little blue lights.
Liz Peden, 53, who teaches at the Gorbals Art Project and who
worked with schools on The Gorbals Boys project, said the sculpture
put the children back on the streets of Gorbals.
She said: "It has been quite a personal thing for me. I think as
you get older, you start to reminisce. We had this public piece to
do and I really wanted to do something about the past of Gorbals,
while looking ahead to its future.
"I was looking through books of Oscar Marzaroli's photographs
and came across the three wee boys in their mammie's high heels.
The Gorbals has always had this reputation of the men with the big
rough and tough image and this cut right through that. Also the
children aren't on the street in the way they used to be back
then.
"The older generation love talking about Gorbals and the kids,
too, have been fascinated by its past."
Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said it was a "joy and a
pleasure" to be invited to the unveiling and spoke with pride of
the community's efforts in bringing the project together. She also
praised Ms Peden.
She said: "She creates community treasures all over Glasgow and
she herself is a community asset and treasure.
"These sculptures were inspired by that amazing photograph. I
think what Liz has created is something which unites the past and
the future of Gorbals. Regeneration is about communities, lives and
people and the monument that she has created is a true reflection
of that."
Anne Marzaroli, Oscar's widow, thought that her husband, who
died 20 years ago, would have loved the sculpture.
She said: "It lives on. They the sculptures are very Glasgow,
very warm. The thing that gave Oscar great joy was the people. He
had an exhibition of photographs at the Third Eye Centre in Glasgow
and all these people came from Gorbals to see it. Oscar loved that,
that they had gone to a place where they would not normally have
gone."
Lee Barton, one of the young models for the sculpture, said: "I
thought it would be good to do this - just so everyone would know
who I was.
"I had to stand up on a table and get measured. I had to stand
in high heels - it was weird."
Reproduced with the permission of The Herald (Glasgow) ©
Newsquest (Herald & Times) Ltd.