Key Points
- A series of murals showing pairs of eyes has appeared across Glasgow, Lanarkshire and Paisley in recent years, often in alleyways, under motorways and on disused billboards.
- The artist behind the works uses the name Psa and has asked BBC Scotland News not to reveal their identity or gender.
- Psa said they began treating graffiti more seriously around 2022, after dabbling in it when younger.
- The eyes have become the artist’s best-known motif, with larger pieces taking more effort than smaller ones.
- A recent crash near the Clyde Tunnel led to online speculation about whether the mural confused a driver, but Police Scotland dismissed that theory.
- The artwork is described by the artist as partly playful and partly a comment on visibility, surveillance and the permanence of online life.
Glasgow (Glasgow Express) May 9, 2026 – A run of eye-themed graffiti murals has become one of the most recognisable street-art trends in the west of Scotland, with works appearing in hidden corners, alongside major roads and on neglected surfaces.
As reported by BBC Scotland News, the artist known as Psa said the eye designs began to appear more regularly around 2022, after they had experimented with graffiti earlier in life. The murals have since spread beyond Glasgow into Lanarkshire and Paisley, giving the work a wider footprint across the region.
The locations are a key part of the appeal. According to BBC Scotland News, the eyes have been painted in places such as dark alleyways, beneath busy motorways and on large abandoned billboards, which makes them easy to miss on one visit and surprising to spot on another. That placement has helped turn the artwork into something of a citywide treasure hunt for those who notice it.
Who is the artist known as Psa?
BBC Scotland News reported that Psa chose to remain anonymous and even asked that their gender not be revealed.
The artist, who said they are now in their 30s, described the current work as the result of a more serious commitment to graffiti after Covid, or possibly from 2022 onwards.
The artist told BBC Scotland News:
“I dabbled in graffiti art a bit when young, but since Covid, or maybe around 2022, I’ve been doing it more seriously.”
They also said the eyes started appearing around that time and that they have created many since, with smaller pieces sometimes done quickly and larger ones requiring much more effort.
This anonymity is part of the story because the focus remains on the images rather than the person behind them.
BBC Scotland News said Psa has produced other graffiti works across the west of Scotland, but the eyes are now the most identifiable aspect of their output.
Did a mural cause the Clyde Tunnel crash?
The crash near the Clyde Tunnel drew widespread attention online after social media users suggested the driver may have mistaken the eye mural for the tunnel entrance. BBC Scotland News said that theory was firmly rejected by Police Scotland.
The police response matters because the crash quickly became part of the wider conversation around the murals, even though the authority said the viral explanation did not match the scene.
BBC Scotland News quoted the artist saying the work does not resemble a tunnel in any real way and that the online reaction turned the image into a phenomenon of its own.
The episode shows how street art can move beyond the physical wall once it enters social media. BBC Scotland News noted that once something is posted online, it can take on a life of its own and remain in the digital space.
What does the artwork mean?
The artist told BBC Scotland News that the eyes are not only playful but also carry a wider message about observation and modern life.
Psa said the imagery reflects how people now spend much of their time online, where their actions and words are visible to others.
BBC Scotland News reported that the artist linked the work to the idea that businesses monitor what people do and can profit from that behaviour, adding another layer to the repeated use of eyes. The artist described the motif as suggesting:
That message sits alongside a more light-hearted intention. BBC Scotland News said the artist also enjoys the idea that people stumble across the eyes in different places and treat the discovery almost like a game.
In that sense, the murals work on two levels at once: as visual surprises in the street and as comments on how public and digital life overlap.
Why has the style spread?
The repeated use of the same motif has helped make the work instantly recognisable, which is often important in graffiti and street art.
BBC Scotland News said the eyes have become familiar to many people since around 2022, suggesting the designs have built up recognition over time rather than arriving as a one-off stunt.
Their spread across several towns and cities also suggests a deliberate pattern rather than isolated tagging. BBC Scotland News said Psa has works in Glasgow, Lanarkshire and Paisley, which means the eye murals are part of a wider body of street art rather than a single local incident.
Because the artist is anonymous, the imagery carries the public-facing identity of the project. That makes the eyes not just a signature, but the main way audiences recognise the work and link separate murals to the same creator.
How does this fit Glasgow’s street art scene?
Glasgow has long been associated with public art and graffiti, and the eye murals add to that wider urban canvas. BBC Scotland News’ reporting places the work in a city where street art is often discussed not only as vandalism or decoration, but also as part of the visual character of different neighbourhoods.
There is also a practical side to that context. Separate BBC and STV reporting shows Glasgow has continued to debate graffiti in public spaces, including clean-up schemes and calls to tackle illegal tagging in other parts of the city.
That means the eye murals sit in a city where attitudes towards street art range from appreciation to concern about cleanliness and property damage.
The result is a story that is not just about one artist, but about how citizens, local authorities and online audiences interpret public art differently. BBC Scotland News’ coverage shows the eyes have become part of that broader conversation.
Background of this development
The rise of the eye murals appears to date back to around 2022, when Psa began taking graffiti more seriously after earlier experimentation in youth.
Since then, the images have appeared in a range of places across the west of Scotland and have gradually become familiar to residents who notice them repeatedly.
The latest attention came after the Clyde Tunnel crash prompted online speculation, which police rejected, but which pushed the artwork into a wider public debate.
BBC Scotland News reported that the incident helped highlight how quickly a local street image can become a social-media talking point.
What could happen next?
For residents and commuters in Glasgow, the development may mean the eye murals become even more noticeable as people actively look for them in the cityscape. BBC Scotland News suggests the work already functions like a repeating visual signature, which could encourage more people to photograph and share it online.
For local authorities and communities, the impact will depend on how the work is viewed in each location. If people see it as art, it may continue to be discussed as part of Glasgow’s street culture; if they see it as unauthorised graffiti, it may remain part of the city’s wider debate about public space and maintenance.
For the artist, the likely effect is continued recognition without public identification. BBC Scotland News’ reporting suggests the anonymity is intentional, so the work may keep spreading under the same mystery while the eyes themselves remain the public focus.
