IT has an inner and an outer circle, but usually that is where the Glasgow Subway's similarity to Dante's Inferno stops.
However, in a new exhibition from Glasgow painter Frank To, the city's underground has provided the map for a modern depiction of the Inferno of Hell, as first depicted in Dante Alighieri's 14th-century epic poem The Divine Comedy.
The 15 stations of the subway have provided To, born in Glasgow in 1982, with enough material to recreate Dante's famous excursion among the lost and the damned.
In the new work, the Tall Ship, berthed outside the Riverside Museum, is now Charon's Ferry, with tortured souls trapped inside. There are depictions of Govan's river shoreline, the Finnieston Crane, the new Hydro arena, high flats due to be demolished, the NCP car park at Cowcaddens, the BBC headquarters at Pacific Quay and other Glasgow sights, albeit rendered in a mythical way suited to the theme of the Inferno.
The new Hydro arena becomes the second circle where the lustful are buffeted by high winds while the O2 Academy becomes the place where the angry are punished.
In the Inferno, the greedy are forced to carry huge burdens in a joust with each other – in To's new take, a traffic warden is forced to push a car.
The role of the Roman poet Virgil – who accompanied Dante through the various levels of hell – in the pictures is portrayed by images based on actor Sir Patrick Stewart, a collector of To's art.
The art work forms the core of To's new show at the Leith Gallery in Edinburgh, which runs from tomorrow to April 27.
To, who lives and works in Glasgow, graduated from the University of Huddersfield with BA (Hons) Fine Art and went on to gain a Masters of Fine Art from Duncan of Jordanstone Art College in Dundee.
"I was on the underground one day and the idea just hit me," he said. "You always get that blast of hot air as you walk down in to the subway and I think that somehow made me think of descending into the underworld.
"Sir Patrick seemed like the perfect face for Virgil, as he is a collector and friend of mine.
"With every stop I got out and took notes and looked for landmarks. It was supposed to be an artistic project but the more I did it, the more it became a social and economic project too. I feel I stepped out of my comfort zone, because I usually do not paint landscapes at all."
SPT is in the process of revamping the underground and has already installed a large art work by Alasdair Gray in Hillhead station.
North Lanarkshire Councillor David Fagan, who sits on SPT's Partnership, said: "Frank's work provides an interesting and intensely personal perspective on Glasgow's Subway. I am not surprised that he chose to use it as a backdrop for his interpretation of Dante's work.
"The Subway is an integral part of the social and cultural fabric of Glasgow and already the artists we have been working with in the Subway modernisation have shown a unique and personal response to the environment. At SPT we are determined to work with local artists and support them in their efforts to contribute to Glasgow's dynamic cultural heritage."
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