Glasgow's Mysterious Eyes: The Graffiti Game That’s Watching You!

In Glasgow and the west of Scotland, a new kind of street art has been catching people's attention. Large, cartoon-like eyes have started appearing on billboards, walls, and even under busy motorways. Sometimes these eyes are small and hidden, while other times they are big and easy to spot, often paired with a cheerful smile. The mysterious artist behind these eyes is known as Psa, but their real identity is a secret. Psa has asked the media not to reveal anything about them, not even their gender.

Psa has been creating art around Glasgow, Lanarkshire, and Paisley for a while, but the eyes are their most famous work. They started painting them seriously around 2022, after the Covid pandemic. Psa says that sometimes they paint a small eye when they are out and about, and other times they spend more time on bigger murals. For Psa, painting graffiti is a way to interact with the city, similar to how they used to feel when skateboarding. They enjoy leaving their mark on the environment, even if it's not in the way the city was meant to be used.

There are a few reasons why Psa paints eyes everywhere. One is that it's fun for people to spot them, almost like a treasure hunt for kids and adults. It reminds Psa of a time when there were colorful lion statues all over Paisley, and people would try to find them all. But there is also a more serious message. Psa says that in today's world, most of our lives are online, and companies can see everything we do. The eyes are a reminder that we are always being watched, both in real life and on the internet. For Psa, who has Asperger's, making eye contact can be difficult, so painting eyes is a way to connect with others. Recently, one of Psa's murals near the Clyde Tunnel became famous after a car crash. Some people joked online that the driver thought the eyes were the entrance to the tunnel, but the police said this wasn't true. Psa plans to keep painting eyes and has an art exhibition coming up. They hope to spread their art even further, creating a web of eyes for everyone to discover.