Athena

I love how Scotland embraces art so readily, right on people's doorsteps. It's not a big deal, north of the border, to have nice stuff in the middle of council estates or new builds. It's sort of, par for the course. Where there's people, there's public art. Taking a right off the main road through Prestonpans into just an everyday housing estate, greeting you as you enter is Athena.

She is togged up in silver oak leaves, high collar, loose sleeves, each leaf interlocking and steely.

She's a spectacular sight and stands, reading her open book just in front of the children's playpark. She'll be passed by masses of people, walking dogs, returning from work, coming home with their shopping, closing curtains for the night. Imagine parking your car on the drive with a rear-view mirror of a sculpture by world renowned artist Andy Scott, who, a little further up the road, made The Kelpies, and a little further down the road, the Dunbear.Dunbear

I love the nonchalance of this type of public art.

In the 1930s, Edinburgh's Craigmiller Estate sprang up, with building paused during the war. But post-war, the estate was bulging with people and far too few facilities, especially cultural provision for those who lived there. It spilled into schools where parents were disenfranchised with the lack of cultural and artistic opportunities for children and one mother began a protest at the lack of creative opportunities for working class kids on the estate. In response to this outcry, a festival committee was established to showcase what the people of Craigmiller had to share. This became a blueprint for community arts and arts in community.

Over the years, whether it be through regeneration or new build, art is now a central focus of community, often reflecting the stories of those who live there or the history and heritage of an area, told through art.

Here, Athena stands on the point where, during the 16th through to the 18th centuries, 81 witches were executed for practising witchcraft in Prestonpans.

Woe betide if you looked a little different, if you knew more than you should. Or if you'd had a neighbourly altercation and harboured a sharp tongue, or were perhaps just in the bad books for being a woman. Or even if you were believed to be a wise woman, usually over forty, or one of the cunning folk and tried to heal with knowledge of herbs or spells (that's the last time I'm giving a paracetamol to a friend!) Churches saw anything less than religion as the work of a witch.

This is a scene from a Robert Burns poem 'Tam O Shanter' showing witches and warlocks in a ruined church.

Women suspected of witchcraft were subjected to cruel physical examinations, which included being pricked on the skin to identify areas of undue pain and devil's marks, areas where no pain was felt! It would have been a toss-up whether to squeal or not to preserve your pride and integrity. I would have found it hard to know if I should have kept my trap shut or fought my innocence if I'd known there was a risk of drowning or strangulation and then being burnt!

Here, Athena is shown as a proud and dignified woman, standing strong and revering accusation. She reads from a book.

Perhaps she is unduly learned for a woman of her standing. Perhaps she's sharing a remedy to cure a sick child. Perhaps she is protesting her innocence. The artist did not want to portray her as a victim.

The housing estate in Prestonpans is known as Athena Grange, Athena being the Greek goddess of wisdom and learning, and here, a hat tip to the last woman accused of witchcraft and put to death in Prestonpans, also called Athena.

I love the way art reflects history and, through a little curiosity, scratches the surface to make an enquiring mind dig deeper to explore the significance of the sculpture and its placement.

It's heartening to see that Stewart Milne Homes recognised the significance of heritage and art in designing the housing complex, and that they had the foresight to include public art in the development.

This helps to blend the new with the old and acts to hold history in a key place, keeping stories, characters and the actions of those at a specific time in life alive. It helps us reflect on what was and how things have progressed and developed, a sort of social history, sculpture sandwich!