Scottish artist 'with deep interest' in life of Muriel Spark selected to create Edinburgh sculpture of author

The Spirit of Spark open competition was launched in November to select the artist who will design and create the memorial in Princes Street Gardens.

Glasgow-based artist Jacqueline Donachie has been selected from an all-female shortlist to design the statue, which will be the first of a woman in the gardens.

Her concept proposal consists of a set of curved cast terrazzo forms incorporating “steps, neuks and sections to sit and to lean”.

An open call for submissions attracted 54 entries from artists across the UK, Europe, North and South America and Asia. Ms Donachie was one of five artists invited to see the proposed site in Princes Street gardens, as well as a selection of artefacts from Dame Muriel’s archive at the National Library of Scotland.

She said the design was inspired from a quote from Spark’s 1981 novel, Loitering with Intent, which states: “I've come to learn for myself how little one needs, in the art of writing, to convey the lot, and how a lot of words, on the other hand, can convey so little”.

“My work is also quite minimal,” said Donachie. “I start my sculptures with a notion of how I want people to interact with them – how they might lie or lean on a surface. The simplicity of this memorial belies the depth of meaning for those who engage with it, for those who delight in the complexity of Spark and her preoccupation with espionage, subterfuge and secrecy.

“Many of her female characters were forceful in confidence in their own creativity and intellect, despite often very slender means, and I hope this work also reflects that.

“It would be wonderful if those who love Spark and the Gardens find a space to observe, to reflect and discover that mercurial spirit and the sense of fun and capriciousness of a woman who never left home without her party shoes in a bag”.

The judging panel, which included former Scottish Makar Jackie Kay, said the decision had been a “huge responsibility”.

Judge, curator and creative producer Susana Beaumont said: “Muriel Spark was a brilliantly singular writer. She was daring and sharp. She observed life, hunting down and illuminating its undertow of menace.

“The artist selected to celebrate her adventurous life, likewise, has to be courageous and outstanding. And this is Jackie Donachie. Jackie has a deep respect and interest in Spark’s life and work. She has previously conceived and created public artworks that honour time and place. Her work for Princes Street Gardens will be outstanding, a resolutely contemporary celebration of Spark's great life.”

Penelope Jardine, Spark’s long term companion, said: “The selection of Jacqueline Donachie's splendid sculpture will not only be striking in the Gardens but, I am sure, would brighten and inspire Muriel herself.

“Muriel would be proud and impressed by the seeming simplicity with which Jacqueline has captured her very complex character and work.”

Glasgow-based Ms Donachie has exhibited at the Gallery of Modern Art in Glasgow and Edinburgh’s Fruitmarket Gallery and participated in Glasgow Slow Down, a public event for the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games cultural programme.

It is planned that the Memorial will be installed in Princes Street Gardens in autumn 2027.