Oor Wullie is supporting both Dundee Premiership football clubs, thanks to a little help from the “Scottish Banksy”.
Graffiti artist Sleek has produced new portraits of the mischievous schoolboy on his upturned bucket – one in Dundee colours and the other in the tangerine of Dundee United.
Fans of both teams were roped in to ensure the clubs were represented, with significant dates, songs and other information included in the striking artworks.
And on Friday, Sleek handed over the finished works to former Dundee goalkeeper Rab Douglas and United legend Dave Bowman.
The limited edition prints will now be auctioned to support each club’s youth teams.
Clubs reflected in graffiti tags
Sleek was commissioned by Sandro Paladini, of Eduardo Alessandro Studios, in Broughty Ferry.
Sandro said he was pleased with the result and added: “The clubs and the fans are reflected in the graffiti tags which are on each picture.
“They have significant dates, songs and other information which relates specifically to these clubs.”
He added: “I’m very pleased obviously with the end result.
“We think that they’re two of the best paintings that Sleek has produced to date and the prints and gifts that have been produced of each are going to go down extremely well with the clubs and fans.”
Sandro has been showing Sleek’s artwork for the last three years.
“He has rapidly grown to become the most popular Scottish street-style artist,” he said.
“Inside that time, his modern interpretations of Oor Wullie have become instantly recognisable and popular with legions of fans of the character.”
Oor Wullie’s modern makeover
“We found that despite the fact that Oor Wullie as a character is some 70 years old, the character seems to still be resonating with today’s generation,” Sandro said.
“He shows no sign of losing his relevance.
“In the hands of a young, contemporary artist like Sleek, he’s very much proving that he can take a very familiar character and give it a modern makeover.
“So all things combined, we felt the artist, the image and subject and clubs themselves all seemed to be a perfect fit.”
Sandro said: “We hope that these will be auctioned by the clubs to support their youth teams and youth academy. We felt that was a fitting connection to be made.”
Sandro said that the partnership had been so successful, that he hopes they will be able to team up with Sleek on another project in the near future.
