There is an empty shop on the high street of Paisley, Scotland, that has walls painted entirely in melted dark chocolate. It’s not far from the hospital in which the former Young British Artist, Turner nominee and painter of the chocolate, Anya Gallaccio, was born in 1963.
Famous for her sculptural explorations of decay, Gallaccio has created Stroke, a multi-sensory experience of chocolate, using the vacant shop as a comment on the post-industrial hollowing out of a town with a proud manufacturing past. It stands as an example of how art can positively transform disused spaces into places of immersive exploration that stimulate discussion about the past and the future.
From the mid 18th century, Paisley was at the centre of textile innovation. The cotton spinning, weaving and trading that shaped its communities brought skills, wealth and civic pride for more than 200 years. Wandering through the town’s centre today, it is hard to believe it was once a global centre for textile production.
