Supporting Statement
The approach to carrying out the restoration project followed ICOMOS guidelines, the...
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The approach to carrying out the restoration project followed ICOMOS guidelines, the guidelines of the Burra Charter and Edinburgh World Heritage Policies. The specification for the works was in line with best conservation practice. The conservation works included: structural repairs, masonry repairs, new leadwork to cornices, repairs and painting of iron grilles, cleaning of glazed bricks, installation of new iron gates and handrail and reglazing of interior windows with an opaque toughened glass.
A new light installation was carried out by City of Edinburgh Council during the conservation works.
The arts installation, Martin Creed’s Work No 1059, has turned one of the worst public spaces in the city centre into one of the more interesting passageways in the World Heritage Site. Built into the fabric of Edinburgh, this new work by Creed engages audiences outside the gallery environment, becoming part of their everyday experience of navigating the city, challenging their expectations of performing the simple action of walking up or down a set of steps. As Jonathan Jones said in his review in the Guardian “This is a model of what public art ought to be: not a pompous statue but a contribution to living in the world”.
The scheme has impacted very positively on the local community increasing access to art and volume of traffic to this historic thoroughfare, which provides a useful shortcut between the main railway station and the old town. The steps have also become a new attraction for visitors to the city. The Fruitmarket Gallery have noted that the response has been overwhelmingly positive; anecdotally when observing reaction to the steps and in the Gallery talking with their own visitors.