'They are big and I am small': How Edinburgh fell in love with Leith's giant yellow towers
The bright yellow, 90-metre tall towers have captured the imaginations of residents and artists across the city
They arrived at the port early in the year, and ever since they have towered over us, dwarfing everything in their wake.
They can be seen from almost every corner of the city, peering at you over the rooftops, growing curiously larger the further you retreat.
These giant yellow towers, the jacket foundations of offshore wind turbines soon to leave Edinburgh to be installed off the coast of Angus, have become part of the furniture of Leith. And people are obsessed with them.
Since their quiet arrival at the docks, the vibrant three-legged structures have captured the imagination of residents, sparking intrigue, affection and artistic inspiration.
A sense of wonder
“The way they make me feel is as if they are enormous ancient gods that have come to visit, and you're not entirely sure whether or not they're benevolent, but you hope they are,” said Felicity Inkpen, a painter from Leith.
“They give me a sense of wonder. It makes you feel like a little kid, seeing something so astronomically large that makes you feel so tiny in comparison.”
Felicity, who is inspired by Leith’s colour palette and ever-changing industrial landscape, said the towers’ scale, yellowness and unique juxtaposition on the landscape made it a “no brainer” that she would create art about them.
She explained how they create what is sometimes known as the Sydney Opera House effect, an optical illusion in which an object appears to grow larger and closer as you move further away from it.
“You’ve got all these beautiful bridges and buildings of Leith, and people sat out having dinner or having a drink, and then this enormous yellow structure just looming over them,” she said.
“From an artistic perspective, it’s like, when do you get the chance to see something like that?”
She is not surprised by the affection the towers have drawn from locals, despite their imposing presence. “Part of what it means to live in this place is to have the ugly and the beautiful in the same spot, potentially in the same hour,” she said.
“People are willing to observe those things together and find joy in them, and I think the yellow things totally represent that.”
‘They are big and I am small’
Felicity’s sketches and paintings were among the first artistic responses to Leith’s yellow guests. But she is just one of dozens of people across the city who have found creative ways to document their encounters with them.
The groundswell of affection inspired two local creatives, Christina Neuwirth and Maria Stoian, to launch a community art project showcasing the responses of residents and artists, which they hope to turn into a farewell exhibition as the towers leave the site early next year.
The pair have received over 80 responses for the project, ranging from drawings, photographs and sculptures to personal essays, nail art and tattoos.
In the last few months, writer Christina has been exchanging reflective letters about the qualities of the towers with their friend in Cromarty, where oil rigs are towed into the Firth.
Meanwhile Maria, a comic artist, is knitting herself a yellow tower vest, which she vows to wear to the exhibition if it can go ahead.
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“There’s something about just the sheer scale of them, the scale of the physical structures but also of the operation itself, the distance they’ve travelled and the thousands of people involved in making it happen,” said Maria. “It’s astounding.”
“There is one quote that one of the contributors included and they said, "They are big and I am small” and I just love that.”
Is is just me or is Leith giant?
One contributor to the project, Laura Fearn, described how photographing the towers from unexpected angles across the city had given them purpose and solace following the death of their dad, himself an avid photographer, earlier this year.
Laura, who can see the towers from near where they live in Portobello, started photographing them in August, and before long invested in a professional camera to experiment further.
Their Instagram account dedicated to the towers, isitjustmeorisleithgiant, features views of the towers from all over the city, as well as Inverkeithing and Kinghorn in Fife where they travelled especially to capture the view.
“It’s difficult to put into words what they represent to me,” said Laura. “I think they will always resonate for me because it has got me into photography which I hope will be a lifelong thing.
“It’s been a monster of a year really, and this has made me get out into the fresh air and do something. It’s made me less miserable.”
Meanwhile, volunteers at the Trinity Community Croft have made a 3D painting to hang in the former bowling clubhouse in Victoria Park.
The gardeners have bonded over their love of the towers, and have a WhatsApp group dedicated to them.
Joad Hughes, a graphic designer and volunteer at the croft, said: “We wanted to give something back to the croft, and it had to be tower-themed.
“I really like how bold and vibrant and imposing they are over the Leith skyline. They’re like foreign bodies.
“You can see them the moment you enter Edinburgh, and they sort of guide you home. I’ll miss them when they’re gone.”
The team at Inch Cape have said they are “genuinely delighted” by the reception the jacket foundations have received during their stay in Leith, and have been “truly awed” by residents’ creative interpretations of them.
Maria and Christina have launched a crowdfunding campaign to support the exhibition, which has already raised over £1,000.
They are hoping to put the exhibition on display at the Out of the Blue Drill Hall in February, before moving it to the Wee Museum of Memory in Ocean Terminal.