It took deep pockets to install the artwork but the ‘Forty Pockets’ mural in Inverness city centre has been scrapped after just five years.
The giant mural, depicting historical moments and breathing life into a dull walled area on Crown Road, weathered badly and had gradually faded from view.
And it emerged yesterday that it could be replaced by “appropriate advertising,” as an earner for the council, according to city officials.
Council workmen yesterday removed the screen print fixture that cost the public purse £60,000 in 2011.
‘Part of Inverness folklore’
The piece – entitled Cathedral – was part of a series of artistic commissions delivered by the Inverness Old Town Art (IOTA) project for the council. It also featured local landmarks and clan figures.
Forty Pockets, a prominent character in the imagery, is part of city folklore for sleeping rough and battling the elements himself in clothing donated by locals.
The early 20th-century tramp now seems destined to disappear from the records.
Local councillor Donnie Kerr said: “Poor Forty Pockets, he must have been down to about 10 pockets the last time I saw him. He’s been fading away, anyway.
“It was art for art’s sake. There was an element of buckpassing, nobody took responsibility.”
Fellow city councillor Thomas Prag was also disappointed with the outcome.
“We asked at the time will it last and I think it was to be for at least 10 years,” he said.
Forty Pockets mural ‘waste of public money’
“I don’t think it’s been embarrassing. We, as councillors, had relatively little involvement. It was an IOTA project and we had no management role.”
Fellow Inverness councillor Jim Crawford, who has a business nearby, said: “It was a waste of precious public money. It was a poor design and, to be honest, most people nowadays don’t know who Forty Pockets was.”
New panels will be erected in place of the mural over the next few weeks.
City manager David Haas said: “It wasn’t looking at its best so it’s been removed. We’re considering options for utilising the wall. We’re not planning any art replacement but we’ll be using that space appropriately. We need to generate income and we’re looking at every opportunity to do that.”
