Partick Thistle fans will be giving their team the thumbs-up at the next game – thanks to a Turner Prize-nominated artist.
David Shrigley, who designed the club’s famous bright yellow mascot Kingsley, has now produced a foam thumb for supporters to wear at Tuesday’s game against Dundee United.
Glasgow-based Mr Shrigley, a long-terms Jags fan, based the creation on a large bronze thumb he designed as part of an exhibition set to take place in September.
The sculpture will appear at the Fourth Plinth in London’s Trafalgar Square as part of a project to bring new pieces of art to the area.
The Macclesfield-born artist, who studied at Glasgow School of Art, said: “The ‘thumbs-up’ gesture is universally understood as meaning something is good so, as a Jags fan, I thought what better way to show our support than to give the guys a giant thumbs-up.
“The piece I designed for the Fourth Plinth is 10 metres high. I wanted to create a version based on the traditional foam finger for fans to take home, albeit a bit smaller than the original.
“I want my art make the world a better place, so hopefully fans can take this piece of art away and feel more positive by giving the thumbs-up whenever and wherever.”
The first 2,000 fans through the turnstiles will receive the limited-edition item to take home with them for free at the April 5 match.
Scottish Premiership side Partick Thistle introduced Kingsley to the world last summer, setting social media alight and dividing opinion.
Shrigley’s spiky-haired creation, who comes complete with a thick black monobrow, drew comparisons with the Teletubbies sun baby and was also described as “the Lisa Simpson of your nightmares”. Others, however, praised the creation as “genius”.