The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Artist puts lottery’s 25th anniversary in the frame
CELEBRATION: Modern work reflects impact on people, places and projects
Scotland’s most successful Olympian Sir Chris Hoy, actor Ewan McGregor and the Kelpies all feature in a new piece of modern art created by Fife artist David Mach to mark the start of six weeks of celebrations for the National Lottery’s 25th birthday.
The trio appear among 25 people, places and projects that have been part of extraordinary things made possible by the lottery’s existence.
Sir Chris credits National Lottery funding with helping him achieve his Olympic dream, Ewan McGregor, from Crieff, featured in Trainspotting 2, which received £500,000 in support from the lottery, and the world’s largest equine sculptures at Falkirk’s Helix Park were similarly funded by National Lottery players.
Methil-born artist Mr Mach said he wanted to encapsulate the lottery’s impact on life in the UK across sports, film, heritage, the arts and community projects.
He said: “For the past 25 years, there is barely a part of our cultural, sporting and community life that has not been positively influenced by National Lottery funding.
“As someone who is involved in charities and institutions, and has artwork commissioned from National Lottery funding, I know the impact it has had on the UK.
“I wanted to help people to get a sense of this impact with this artwork through 25 stories, and to have it shown on a local high street for anyone to view is fitting.”
He is currently constructing his latest work, Odyssey, at Dunfermline Carnegie Library and Galleries, and that will be on display until February.
Six tonnes of DC Thomson newspapers spilling out of a shipping container form the basis of that work, and members of the public have been going along for the past week-and-a-half to see him in action.
Mr Mach was a natural choice for the project, since he has his own strong links to the lottery.
Some of his most famous pieces were commissioned by the National Lottery, including Train, from 1997, which was nominated for the then Turner Prize in Darlington; Big Heids from 1998; and Elevator from 2006.
His new artwork, titled United By Numbers: The National Lottery at 25, is being unveiled today and will be exhibited in the window of Booth and Howarth on Mauldeth Road, Manchester – a shop that has been selling National Lottery tickets for 25 years.
Sir Chris, who won six gold medals and one silver for cycling at the Olympics throughout his career, said he was delighted to feature in the piece and admits the National Lottery changed his life.
Others to feature in the image range from Morecambe Brass Band – one of the first projects to ever receive National Lottery funding – to Idris Elba, governor for the National Lottery-funded British Film Institute.
Betty Webb, a Second World War codebreaker from Bletchley Park, is also included.