What ever happened to ‘the blob’ statue on Buchanan Street? Glasgow’s most divisive statue

It was a statue that divided the whole city - most hated it, but others had an appreciation for the “weird blob”, and the fact that everyone else couldn’t stand it made it all the more appealing.

The statue isn’t actually called ‘the blob’ - many Buchanan Street commuters just took to calling it that, because, well, that’s what it looks like.

The big hunk of metal is actually an abstract sculpture, meant to resemble a robin taking flight - it’s officially called ‘Concept of Kentigern.’

St Kentigern is another name given to none St. Mungo, the patron saint of Glasgow who reportedly named the city Glasgui, which translates to ‘dear green place’ according to our sources in the seventh century.

The sculpture was commissioned in 1972 as part of the council’s scheme to pedestrianise Buchanan Street. They had no clue what the statue was going to be though, so they set up a design competition - which was won by a 23 year-old Dundee art student called Iain Livingstone.

The statue was unveiled five years after the initial commission along with the newly pedestrianised Buchanan Street in October 1977.

For 23 years the blob sat on Buchanan Street, a big lump right in the middle of Glasgow’s busiest thoroughfare from 1977 until 2000 - and when we say big lump we mean it, if you haven’t seen it in person the sculpture is 10 foot tall, completely hollow, and is made from resin and powdered bronze.

If nothing else it made for a really good place to meet a friend before the days of mobile phones.

It was certainly interesting to look at - some people saw it like a whales tail diving into the water, others thought it was a propellor of some kind (it would make sense given our shipbuilding heritage), personally I always seen it as a goalie reaching out for a save with some really baggy sleeves.

The Bird That Never Flew

In reality, the design was meant to represent St Kentigern (Mungo) and one of his four miracles which are illustrated on the Glasgow coat of arms, the bird that never flew.

The bird that never flew refers to a legend from St Mungo’s early days at the monastery. According to the story, while a young man studying under St. Serf at a monastery in Fife, Mungo witnessed the death of a robin at the hands of those also studying at the monastery, who were jealous of all the attention the patron saint of Glasgow was getting.

Mungo prayed over the dead bird and brought it back to life. This is what the statue represents, the robin taking flight after being revived by the saint. Who knew what the council thought this represented in a modern artistic context though.

Are we, the Glasgow public, meant to be the bird? Is the pedestrianisation of Buchanan Street the prayer with Glasgow City Council acting as St Mungo? Who knows, art can be interpreted any way you like, even as a goalie with big baggy sleeves.

After the millenium, the statue was finally shifted after literal decades of moaning to the council. Unceremoniously the statue was dumped at the back of a gritting depot in Maryhill. Three years later then Lord Provost Elizabeth Cameron offered to give the piece to any group who could provide it a good home in a place of prominence.

No one would take the Provost up on her offer though.

Most folk don’t have space for a 10 foot tall bronze sculpture in their tenement flat.

One of the blob’s biggest fans is none other than the creator of the Kelpies, Glasgow’s own Andy Scott.

In an interview with The Scotsman back in 2018 about how growing up in Glasgow inspired his art, he said:“I’ll be the first to say that when it comes to public art it takes all sorts,” he admits today, “and it would be a boring world if it was full of big steel horses, but I really do believe there’s a role, still, for art which shows a human touch and has a popular appeal.”

He goes on to recalls the Concept of Kentigern - he says:“I just loved that it was an unusual blob, but it somehow had movement and an aura about it - or it did to me - and that someone could have made this weird shape have a life and a ‘feeling’.”

It wasn’t until 2014, 11 years after the provost tried to hand off the statue to anyone that would take it, that the Spirit of St. Kentigern would make its grand return to a public space in Glasgow.

It made its grand comeback at an exhibition over in the Merchant City in The Briggait called: Reclaimed: The Second Life of Sculpture exhibition.

Thanks to that exhibition, the City of Glasgow College picked up the statue from Glasgow City Council - it now proudly stands once more at the Allan Glen Entrance to the college on Cathedral Street, although this time it’s out of the way enough that people won’t get too annoyed by its presence.

Ray McKenzie, the author of a book called Sculpture in Glasgow, described the Concept of Kentigern as ‘’a textbook example of how not to administer public art’’.

Whether you loved it or hated it, Glasgow’s first taste of modern art certainly started a conversation and sparked our imaginations (even if it was just to find clever ways of making fun of it) - and is that not what art is all about?

It might just be us - and could just be nostalgia - but we do occasionally miss the statue when walking down Buchanan Street.

What do you see when you look at the Concept of Kentigern statue?