Nuart Aberdeen 2026 began with a subtle more experiential opening within the fading granduer of the Bon Accord Baths. There set within the deep end, a new installation from Robert Montgomery was revealed to the public.
Titled Even After All This Time the Sun Never Says to the Earth “You Owe Me”, the piece contrasted with the cavernous Art Deco interior. An 11-metre illuminated installation which took five days to assemble. Something that immediately established the tone of the festival this year. One shaped by poetry, words and the possibilities that working in public space offer.
A Space Reawakened
Closed for years and caught between decay and renewal, the building carries its own sense of civic memory. Once a place of gathering and routine, it now exists as a kind of architectural echo. It is an impressive building and there are local attempts still to bring it back to life. Many a visitor remembering their own first experiences of daring to go into that deep end.
The opening itself was anchored by the choral voices of local musicians. Five performances set within the floor of the old pool. As the music played the light outside changed from day to night. The only light source coming from the installation itself. It became an atmospheric almost melancholic spectacle. It was a statement opening to a festival anchored around the concept of Poetry and it’s place in the urban landscape.
Even After All This Time
The words themselves were drawn and inspired by a poetic tradition often attributed to the 14th century Persian poet ‘Hafez Shirazi‘.
Even After All This Time, The Sun Never Says To The Earth, You Owe Me. Look What Happens With A Love Like That.
Taking this work, Montgomery sought to imagine an expansion to the poem.
A Whole World Blooms. It’s The Love They Are Forgetting, The Love The Sun Gives Down To The Earth To Be Shared With Every Traveller, Every Migrant. Do Not Let Them Forget The Love
This final illuminated text sat bold against the backdrop of the pool amplifying the space. The Bon Accord Baths and the music becoming just as much a part of the artwork as the words themselves.
Robert Mongomery talks about the work and his practice at Nuart
Robert Montgomery in conversation with Evan Pricco at Nuart
Robert Montgomery
Montgomery’s practice has always been rooted in the relationship between language and environment. Born in Scotland, he studied painting at Edinburgh College of Art, where an early interest in poetry began to shape his visual work. That dialogue between text and image would go on to define his practice.
After moving to London in the early 2000s, he began creating what he describes as “visual poems”. Text-based installations placed on billboards. By adopting the visual language of advertising, Montgomery made poetry both public and immediate. This whilst simultaneously subverting the commercial systems those formats typically serve.
Within Aberdeen his work appeared as part of the very first Nuart Festival in 2017. It’s a piece that has stood the test of time and still stands on Jopp Lane. An early introduction to the concept of Poetry is on the Streets.
Poetry, Politics and Public Space
Montgomery’s work at the baths was a quiet act of intent which really anchored the festival and it’s underlying ethos. In a moment where migrants are so often framed through fear, the piece reads as a clear counter‑narrative. Addressing “every traveller, every migrant”, it offered a public affirmation that “a whole world blooms” when we choose love, hospitality and connection over suspicion.
Within the Bon Accord Baths, in a curation led by festival director Martyn Reed, those ideas became an experience. Light, choir, architecture and text combined to create a temporary sanctuary. One observer with their own lived experience of displacement, said that it felt like protection as much as poetry.
From Jopp Lane in 2017 to the deep end in 2026. Montgomery has used Aberdeen as a canvas for a different kind of public notice. Not a command, not a campaign, but lines of poetry in the open air. A reminder that another way of speaking to, and about, each other is always available.
For more Inspiring City articles you will like, take a look at…
- Robert Montgomery Mural at Vaernes Airport in Trondheim
- Nuart Plus at Nuart Aberdeen 2026: Beyond the Walls
- Where to Find Street Art in Aberdeen
Nuart Aberdeen 2026 opened with an installation from Robert Montgomery at the Bon Accord Baths. It lasted for the duration of the festival prior to being disassembled.
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