Is this Scottish anti-Brexit exhibition really ‘art’?

‘Hate is not welcome in Scotland’, apparently, at least according to a public information film released in 2018 by the Scottish government. ‘We believe in acceptance, and it’s time you accept that’ continue the bright-eyed young people featured in the ad. Anyone who believes in this uplifting message might be puzzled if they pop into the City Art Centre in Edinburgh, where a new exhibition by artist Rachel Maclean seems to be very short on acceptance for Brexit and the awful Brits who voted for it.

‘Native Animals’ is a set of paintings and video installations which, according to the blurb are ‘examining the various motivations behind Brexit and its repercussions’. The images depict Leave supporters as grotesque hybrid monsters draped in Union Jack flags and revelling in anti-immigrant sentiments. One particularly hideous creation, a corpulent pock marked pig/orc combination has the slogan ‘Hop off Home’ emblazoned on a sash worn over his Union Jack emblazoned jacket.