A PICTURE of a giant robot blowing up the Edinburgh trams is so popular even workers on the troubled project are snapping them up.
Giant A3 prints of the oil painting, entitled “Tram Buster”, are being offered by a city gallery for £85.
And although the images are not officially on sale until next week, at least one of them has been pre-ordered by tram workers.
The painting by artist Raymond Campbell depicts a massive robot stomping along Princes Street while destroying trams with laser beams from its eyes.
It also shows a ‘mini-bot’ taking on the trams from ground level as bagpipe players, highland dancers and members of the public celebrate the destruction.
Also in the picture is a panda escaping from the zoo in the back of a bus while a plane drags a banner behind behind it saying ‘panda still missing’.
George Rendall, who owns Art et Facts, said the artwork is perfect as it “sums up everyone’s feelings” of the public transport fiasco.
The scheme is over-budget, badly-delayed and is causing such severe traffic disruption that other road repair schemes have been delayed.
“Hipster”
George, 54, said he and Raymond were “both infuriated about the trams and the chaos they cause so we wanted to team up for a piece about that”.
He said: “I know this won’t stop the trams – but it’s good to do some sort of creative protest.
“You know, just something to stick in the craw of the bosses that have mucked everything up.”
He added: “I’ve had everyone from older residents to hipster student types coming in wanting a copy – but I couldn’t help but chuckle to myself when a few tram workers came in.
“They popped in on their lunchbreak from working near Murrayfield and they were loving it – I think they saw the funny side.
“One ordered a copy on the spot and I’m expecting a few more next week.”
Raymond, 56, said: “I had a lot of fun doing this tram painting – it’s good to pretend to blow annoying stuff up.
“I think it just shows how a lot of people feel towards the trams and they can relate to it – probably why it’s so popular.”
John Carson, a campaigner who ran for the council on an anti-trams ticket, said: “This is great. I think anything related to the trams is topical.
“People might think it’s funny but in reality the trams is no laughing matter.”
When he is not painting scenes of robots causing destruction, Mr Campbell is – according to gallery Royall Fine Art – “arguably, the most successful still life painter working in the UK today”.
The East Sussex-based artist’s worked has been showcased at the prestigious Royal Academy and the Royal Society of British Artists as well as in Australia, New Zealand and the USA.
Collecters pay as much as £30,000 for one of his original works, and former Rangers chairman David Murray is said to own some of his paintings.
