Giant baby sculpture makes a second appearance in Edinburgh as Modern One announces its major new displays.
A giant sculpture of a newborn baby by artist Ron Mueck goes on display on Friday at Modern One in Edinburgh.
Measuring more than five metres in length, A Girl captures a newly delivered baby taking her first glimpse of the world around her. Free to visit, it’s one of more than 50 fascinating works from the nation’s collection of modern and contemporary art now on show. It has been fourteen years since A Girl was last exhibited in the city, having since travelled around Europe to Denmark, Germany, France and the Netherlands.
Last seen at Modern One in 2012, when visitors flocked to see the striking fibre-glass sculpture, it’s set to wow audiences once again with its extraordinary scale and Mueck’s hyper-realistic, painstakingly detailed rendering of a newborn. Australian artist Mueck, born in 1958, uses scale as an expressive device to bring both the trauma and the miracle of birth to the fore, deliberately stirring emotion and encouraging viewers to see the human body in new ways.
Families visiting Modern One can book a free basket full of art goodies to stimulate their own creativity. Free baskets can be booked in advance here
This year’s Family Art Baskets draw inspiration from A Girl and other works in the modern and contemporary collection, each packed with materials, ideas and sensory art prompts to help families explore the galleries and grounds in playful new ways. The baskets are available every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of the Scottish school holidays, with free advance booking online and collection on the day between 2pm and 3pm.
Elsewhere in the gallery, visitors can explore many other new displays this summer, including Flora Yukhnovich’s vivid large-scale painting A World of Pure Imagination (2024), which recently became a part of the national collection and is shown alongside Scottish artist Gwen Hardie’s monumental Fist I (1986).
There’s also a major selection of drawings and paintings by early 20th-century Scottish artists James Cowie, Edward Baird, William McCance, Charles Cameron Baillie and William Crosbie, as well as intimate portraits by influential American photographer, Diane Arbus.
Beyond the new displays, Modern One remains home to the nation’s outstanding modern and contemporary art holdings, including Louise Bourgeois’s towering three-metre Spider (1994) and more than 40 surrealist works by the likes of Salvador Dalí, Dorothea Tanning, Max Ernst, Leonora Carrington, René Magritte and Toyen, alongside pieces by Pablo Picasso, Bridget Riley, Sarah Lucas and over 120 other artists.
Outside, visitors are greeted by the spiralling earth sculpture Landform, designed by landscape architect Charles Jencks, while a free sculpture trail leads families around the grounds to discover further works by Barbara Hepworth, Joan Miró and Tracey Emin. Those keen to relax can pack a picnic for the grounds or head to the drop-in picnic and play area, Art Space One, on Level 2, where art books, building blocks and craft materials are on hand for younger visitors.
Anne Lyden, Director General at the National Galleries of Scotland said: “We are thrilled to have Ron Mueck’s A Girl back at Modern One, it is always such a hit with visitors, and we love seeing their reaction to the scale and intricate details of the sculpture. It’s really quite spectacular! There is something for everyone at Modern One this summer, whether enjoying the grounds in the sun or discovering and re-discovering Scotland’s magnificent collection of Modern and Contemporary art! Families can also get stuck in with trails, Family Art Baskets and artist weekends. We want the galleries to be a welcoming environment that everyone feels comfortable in, whether coming with young children, teenagers, friends, family or on your own, this is your collection to discover!”
