Street artist Elph is an overnight hit after 30 years
Street artist Elph is an overnight hit after 30 years
The Capital's most famous urban artist sees Edinburgh finally embracing murals
He’s been quietly creating art in some of Edinburgh’s more unlikely spaces – on walls, gable ends and doorways and in ever more public spaces – for the better part of three decades.
Elph has been one of Scotland’s leading street artists for years but – like many of his counterparts – maintains the lowest of profiles. Their art is the most public, but street artists generally remain fiercely private.
However, Elph, or Brian McFeely to friends and family, is less concerned about remaining secret. Nonetheless any cover he may have sought was well and truly blown this week when his latest creation went viral.
Working on a commission for one of the gaming world’s major gaming franchises, Riot Games’ “Valorant”, he helped unveil the shooting game’s first-ever Scottish - and first non-binary - lead character, Clove. The stunning painted and projected mural is on display at the street art exhibition space Quality Yard on Maritime Lane in Leith.
When the Inquirer caught up with the artist he was happy to chat through the project, what he’s up to next, and the growth in the popularity and acceptance of an art form he has helped pioneer. Glasgow has long loved, but Edinburgh is finally starting to embrace street art too.
It’s come a long way. From being viewed purely as vandalism to increasing interest, acceptance and commercial value. The work of perhaps the world’s best-known street artist, Bristol’s Banksy, is highly sought after with one piece titled “Love is in the Bin” selling at auction for a staggering £18.5 million. That’s a fair chunk of art world acceptance right there, especially when you consider Banksy - who still tries to maintain his anonymity - once said: “It’s a very frustrating feeling you get when the only people with good photos of your work are the police.”
Elph has been at the heart of the movement for decades, and while his work may not sell for Banksy money, he is kept busy working on commissions and projects he simply enjoys. He’s still experimenting, still learning, now increasingly using animation and projection to bring his creations to even more stunning life.
He told the Inquirer: “Riot Games got in touch with me about a month ago and asked about the mural. I’ve always been interested in computer game art, and comics have influenced me for a long time, so I was happy to get involved especially as Clove is their first Scottish character, and an interesting character at that.
“They sent me a lot of reference material and basically asked me for my interpretation of the character. I used layers of paint to create something that is interesting day or night, projection and animation to provide more interest for the mural. Hopefully people will think it all works.”
The four panels are accompanied by cinematic projections, to illuminate the piece at night, with each panel telling a different story of Clove’s journey from death to rebirth, tying in with their unique in-game power of self-revival.
Riot Games describe Clove as “a modern, young, non-binary Edinburgh native with a rebellious streak, but who is also fiercely loyal to their friends. Clove’s unique ability allows them to come back from the dead after defeat, giving them another chance at life, and tying into Edinburgh’s well documented tradition of ghost stories.”
Elph said: “I’ve been doing street art, and murals, for about 30 years, mainly in Edinburgh and Glasgow. I’ve seen interest in, and acceptance of, street art really grow. In Glasgow particularly, gable end murals have been loved in communities for quite a while but in fairness that’s also now becoming true in Edinburgh.”
“People are just so much more accepting, and perhaps that’s been driven - at least a bit - by travel, as people have been exposed to street art and graffiti in countries where it has been more established.”
“I now see more young people getting involved, and the level of painting is getting better and more interesting all the time. I’m still learning, still experimenting. At the moment, I’m really interested in what projection and animation can do to bring street art even more to life, and I used those as part of the Clove mural.”
One technique he used in the new mural was first applied not far away in Leith, when he created a mural in the studio of creative agency Arms & Legs which had to work equally well by day and night.
Elph used layers of special paints and black light to create a stunning mural that is spectacular in any light.
Social media also plays a huge part in street art’s enlarged following. By its nature, street art is ephemeral. It doesn’t hang in a gallery for years and years, rather it arrives unannounced and exists until something happens to the surface on which it is created. It’s part of the excitement it generates. So the ability so share something that is visually stimulating or exciting on social media has helped fuel the attention and appeal.
“Social media has definitely been a big factor. Once a mural or piece of street art would be seen by those who walked or drove past it. Now it can be viewed around the world within hours, and that’s been a big attraction I think for a lot of the younger artists now getting involved.”
The debate around vandalism v art is never too far away. Street art and graffiti remain inevitably linked. Street art can brighten and excite, but it can also infuriate and provoke and - in general - street artists are not against strong reactions. As Banksy once put it “A wall is a very big weapon. It’s one of the nastiest things you can hit someone with.”
This has seen another interesting development in the evolution of street art. In smart neighbourhoods - here and around the world - street art is now viewed more as amenity than vandalism. The New York Times recently reported on the rise of street art as a sign of gentrification. Counterculture has become cultural. Developers and brands are more likely to spend money commissioning street art than forking out to scrub it from their walls.
Spraypainters may still include political messages - when was politics divorced from art? - but increasingly a mural is an announcement that a neighbourhood has hipster cachet and cool.
Most people have their own view of what constitutes art, and what does not. As ever, it’s in the eye of the beholder. For his part, Elph believes it’s not just the artistic quality that is now driving the growth of interest in street art. “There’s been loads of research about the positive impact art has on people’s well-being and mental health – both for those taking part in making art and those who enjoy it. But now there’s more research that shows street art can be a real force for improved mental well-being. I’m not trying to claim it will solve everyone’s serious problems, but even if it just makes people smile and feel better about their day, that’s really positive.”
A piece of work by a university team from Yale looked into the impact of the Porch Light programme, a venture between Mural Arts Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Department of Behavioral (sic) Health and Intellectual Disability Services found that murals “boosted empathy, social trust and perceptions of the neighbourhood.”
For his part, Elph is currently working with an indie games company here in Scotland on some character development, and in May he’s off to one of his favourite events in the annual calendar, the Yardworks Festival in Glasgow, a celebration of the work of graffiti art. As ever, Elph hopes to be working on a gable end mural with friends and colleagues. Brightening up a neighbourhood, and bringing smiles to faces.
Before we leave you, enjoy the culmination of Elph’s work through this short video created to showcase his latest mural announcing Clove.