The story behind mystery Tay Rail Bridge signs
David 'Cully' McCulloch started the Passing Thoughts project during the pandemic
Last updated 18th Nov 2024
Dundee motorists and West End residents may have spied various signs under the Tay Rail Bridge over the past three years.
They're part of the Passing Thoughts project with the current sign stating 'Let The Reader Understand.'
The signs are created by artist David 'Cully McCulloch who places them under the Tay Rail Bridge on Riverside Drive, adjacent to Riverside Approach.
He told us why he decided to start placing signs under the bridge, saying: "It was during lockdown actually that I became aware of that space. There's a part under the bridge that has been painted, I presume to cover over graffiti, and it looked like a frame.
"I was aware that every time you come down to come on to Riverside Drive, you are often waiting in a queue. I thought I would put messages up there, in the form of what maybe looks like a road sign.
"The idea was that it would give people, as they were driving past, just something to think about."
Where do the phrases come from?
The phrases on the signs certainly stick in the mind, with previous signs reading 'At Last The Truth', 'Blisteringly Topical' and 'The Evidence Of Things Not Seen.'
Cully says the origins of the phrases have changed since he began the project. He said: "the ones that I started with were all related to the rhetoric around what we were being told during Covid.
"There were certain phrases that were being used, that maybe hadn't been used as much before, but, because we were hearing them all the time it just made me think about what these things meant, especially out of context.
"So, I started by putting (up) signs that were related to Covid, or messages that were Covid related, but, that had an ambiguity to them, so that they could be read out of that context and that was important as well.
"I'm really interested in language and communication and how, when you put some words together, we think we know what they mean, but they can mean lots of different things to lots of different people.
"So, someone coming and seeing that, it might conjure up some connection or a thought as they are driving past, that may or not relate to what I was thinking about."
He added: "A lot of them are still related to what would be in the public consciousness, in terms of what's going on, things that are political as well.
"I read a lot of philosophy and theology actually, so there's a lot of phrases that come out of that, that are not just relevant to that subject, but that have a wider appeal as well."
When do new signs come?
The artist, who's based in Dundee and works for the charity Morphe Arts, believes he has now produced around 30 different signs.
Created on cardboard, they were originally produced by hand. David now uses a laser cutter at Dundee Contemporary Arts (DCA) print studio to design his signs.
He says there is no set schedule for a new sign to be displayed. He said: "I think it just depends on when the next phrase comes.
"I would definitely leave them up for a month, maybe no longer than two months, so sometimes shorter, it just depends how often the phrases come to me.
"When I'm reading something or a phrase comes to mind, I kind of put it in the storage bank and just wait until it's ready to put it out."
"I see it as a gift really, maybe an unwanted gift"
With the signs displaying mostly ambiguous quotes and phrases, he's telling us what he hopes people take away from viewing them, saying: "I see it as a gift really, maybe it's an unwanted gift.
"I'm aware that when you're stuck traffic you're often a bit frustrated and if there is something that just gives people something to think about, to take their mind off the traffic or their rush to or from work, it might just help them think."
While displaying the signs on his website and social media, to many Cully's work remains anonymous to many. Asked about feedback received around the signs, he said: "I've almost put myself in a position where it's not viable to receive feedback.
"Doing this interview kind of changes that, so for me anyway, it's an interesting part of the process, doing this interview and what may or may not come from that."