A sculpture created by an Aberdeen artist has gone on display in New York.
Ruth Ewan created a symbolic clock, with the words “time to organize” written below, after taking inspiration from the struggles of industrial workers in America during the 1910s and 1920s.
The piece, named “silent agitator”, has gone on view on a popular walking route called The High Line, a 1.45-mile elevated trail created on a former New York Central railroad spur on the west side of Manhattan.
The clock is based on work by writer and labour activist Ralph Chaplin.
His illustration for the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) union read “what time is it? Time to organize”.
The image was distributed in its millions to union members on stickers dubbed “silent agitators”.
Symbolic of the the struggles people faced to fight for the working rights we have today, Ms Ewan says it is the most popular work that she has ever created.
The artist said: “It felt amazing to have my work displayed and it was a great team of people to work with
“It was a very open and trusting operation to produce the work, and it had to be something that could withstand the weather for a full year.”
The clock will be displayed until March and although she says its impending removal will be a “sad” moment, Ms Ewan said it was only ever meant to be temporary and is now “looking for a new home” for the sculpture.
Based in Glasgow, the artist was born in Aberdeen in 1980 and moved to Fife at the age of eight.
She continued to live there for a further 10 years before moving to study at the Edinburgh College of Art, which she graduated from in 2002.
Ms Ewan took a step back from her work over the past two years to look after her young children but managed to make three trips to The Big Apple for the exhibition.
She added: “It’s the most viewed piece of work that I’ve ever done.”
