Later this month, Queen Margaret University will officially unveil a striking new public art piece, created to mark the institution’s 150th anniversary.
Since completing her research at the end of 2024, artist Martha Ellis has been hard at work throughout 2025 - curating an exhibition of intricate laser-cut drawings that revealed the evolution of her design, finalising the concept, overseeing the fabrication process, and now, the installation of the final piece on campus.
In this blog, we catch up with Martha to hear all about her latest updates.
A blog by Martha Ellis
After drawing over 300 portraits of people I met at QMU and in the wider community, I finally started piecing them all together into one big composition. The goal? - to create something that truly reflects the diversity and energy of everyone I’ve encountered across the QMU community.
This part of the process was both exciting and a bit of a puzzle - I had to figure out how to place all these people next to each other, layering drawings in a way that made sense visually and structurally. Each person needed to be clearly visible, but at the same time, the sculpture had to be durable enough to stand up in the landscaped gardens – with part of the structure embedded in the ground, but the visual element of the design clear for all to view. Indeed, nothing is ever straight forward!
The portraits that didn’t quite make the final cut were still put to good use. In March, I was able to display many of the drawings that weren’t going to be featured in the final design at an exhibition held at QMU. We invited everyone involved in the commissioning of the art piece, as well as the staff, students, alumni and members of the East Lothian community who helped inform the design process - as without them, this unique piece of community art would not have been possible! The exhibition offered an insight into how a concept evolved from a simple idea into a meaningful public art piece, and it was a real delight seeing the looks on people’s faces as they recognised either themselves or others reflected in the drawings.
Once I’d settled on a final design, I cut it out in a smaller scale - kind of like a test version - to make sure it all worked in that laser cut-out style. I kept that mini version on my desk for about a week, checking in on it every now and then to make sure I still liked it. A few tweaks were made here and there, but luckily no major changes were needed.
From there, I teamed up with the brilliant folks at JGB Steelcraft in Glasgow, who helped design the base plates that would support each panel. These plates are hidden underground and bolted into a concrete slab, keeping the sculpture firmly in place.
Once everything was approved by QMU’s commissioning committee and the technical drawings were signed off, it was time for the big moment - cutting the final design from 10mm thick steel. We used a water jet cutting machine, which basically shoots out a super high-pressure jet of water to slice through the metal. Each of the three panels (which are 2.5 metres tall!) took about a day and a half to cut.
After cutting, the base plates were welded on, and then it was off for painting - the whole sculpture got a sleek coat of matte black.
While all this was happening, Dave Crosbie from Tree-ditions, a woodcraft and nature company based in East Lothian, was working on the groundwork at the QMU campus. He dug down deep into the earth to prepare the foundations for the artwork – creating a concrete foundation for the sculpture to be bolted to, and the necessary strength to hold the structure in place so it remains secure against the elements for years to come. This was not without its challenges.
Finally, installation day arrived! We used an all-terrain forklift to move each huge panel into place - carefully guided by Bruce Laing, Director of Campus Services at QMU, who kept everything on track. Once the sculpture was bolted down, Dave got stuck into backfilling the hole and levelling out the area to make it accessible and attractive for everyone to come and visit.
It’s been a whirlwind journey and a very unique experience, but seeing it all come together on campus has been totally worth it. I feel very privileged to have been involved in creating a piece of sculpture that is taking centre stage in the QMU campus, that is reflective of the QMU community, and which will hopefully be enjoyed by thousands of people over the next few years. So, as you can imagine, I can’t wait for the official unveiling!
The official unveiling of QMU’s 150th anniversary artwork, which was made possible by donations from members of the QMU community, will take place on Thursday 28th August from 5pm – 6.30pm. Book your place to ensure you don’t miss out! Please note that attendance is on a first come first served basis - places are limited.
