Made from Girders sampler

made from girders: OUR Forth Bridge
the iconic human cantilever picture, creating a sculpture which was
going to be turned into a full-size bronze – so far, it hasn’t come
to anything! I was also one of the first people to don a headset
for the Virtual Reality 3D experience – in a small room in Stirling,
where I walked around the girders of the Forth Bridge, virtually.’
He hesitates, before adding: ‘I fell off actually!’
However, surely Gordon Muir’s most notable work associated
with the bridge are his two memorials, facing each other across
the waters of the Forth. He recalls: ‘I joined the group which was
going to appoint an ‘Artist-in-Residence’, working towards creating
some sort of memorial. After making little progress, we felt it may
be best to have something tangible to show such an artist, so I
offered, free of charge, to create a design. The idea was to appoint
a stonemason to make it, out of a special stone to be imported
from India. The budget was not really coming together. However,
Network Rail’s refurbishment job was reaching its conclusion and
they offered us 95 per cent of the money if we could deliver the
memorials to tie in with the completion of the job – a ridiculous
deadline, basically determined by Alex Salmond’s availability to
unveil them on the day.’
The team’s original plan had to be abandoned: ‘There was no
way it could be made by a stonemason in the time – the stone had
not even been ordered! The only way to do it now was casting it in
bronze – and for me to work like a Trojan! I had to do everything:
the full-size clay model, the lettering – I was literally sleeping at the
foundry. We have pictures of my son and his bandmates working
there, helping me in the middle of the night. And we did it! On the
morning when Alex Salmond unveiled the memorial, there was a
reception at the Orocco Pier in South Queensferry.’ He pauses.
‘I am proud of that work. Very proud, for my part in that story,
highlighting the shocking lack of concern for the lives of ordinary
workers in Victorian times.’
Muir’s remarkable way with images also led to another
opportunity to celebrate the Forth Bridge’s heritage – he joined
the team of researchers working with writer Elspeth Wills to
document the lives of ordinary Forth Bridge workers, an effort
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