Miscarriages of Justice Organisation Light Up the Glasgow Skyline
A new art show and guerrilla visual projection in the City Centre aims to highlight miscarriages of justice that still plague our legal system.
On 3rd June 2022, Jubilee celebrations were underway across the country. But whilst people were preparing for weekend street parties, one organisation had other ideas. Alongside Govanhill based artist Anne Flynn, the Miscarriages of Justice Organisation - or MOJO for short - lit up the Glasgow skyline with projections delivering uncomfortable statistics about the Scottish criminal justice system. Party-goers, late-night walkers and general passers-by, were confronted by these shocking numbers of injustices rife in the system.
The spectacle began at the Tollbooth Steeple, which in years past was the scene of public hangings. From there, the projections moved to the High Court of Justiciary, at the foot of the Saltmarket. From there, MOJO marched east to the People’s Palace.
The artist behind the work commented:
“It was really important to ensure an element of the work had complete freedom. People who have been wrongfully convicted have had their box, they’ve been locked up and confined in one for sometimes many years. I didn’t want to re-create that environment by just putting the art about them and the issue back inside 4 walls. It was equally as important to talk about the justice-system on the Jubilee. On a day of celebrations about the Monarchy I wanted to highlight the damage done in the name of the Crown”.
The guerrilla projections were in combination with the launch of the art exhibition “The System’s Grim”. This pop-up art show, that ran from 4th to 10th June in the Saltmarket, featured artistic interpretations of the more stark failings of our criminal justice system. It included work by five wrongfully convicted, and imprisoned, people in the form of paintings, sculpture and poetry.
One of the participants was Jim Boyle. He welcomed the opportunity, provided by the exhibition, for contributors’ work to educate the wider community on the means through which miscarriages of justice are created. In his own view these are not accidental.
Anne is clear in her own view:
“In a world where we are heavily focused on true crime in America, being horrified by stories told in Netflix’s ‘Making A Murderer’ or ‘The Staircase’, it is about time the stories of people in our community were heard, and through art The System’s Grim has begun to open a dialogue.”
The show runs until June 10th, 12-5pm at 19 Saltmarket, G1 5NA. It is free entry to enable accessibility for everyone, with donations welcome, as 100% of any funds raised go towards supporting the vital work undertaken by MOJO. Donations can also be made here