Ashley Rawson’s latest public art installation features a large vape towering over a tiny firefighter, and aims to raise questions on fire risks associated with vape shops in heritage buildings.
18:14, 21 Mar 2026Updated 08:22, 22 Mar 2026
Ashley Rawson unveiled ‘Unexploded Vape’ on Buchanan Street today(Image: Ashley Rawson/Supplied)
A Glasgow artist has erected a model of an ‘unexploded vape’ in Glasgow city centre in the wake of the devastating fire at Union Corner earlier this month. Ashley Rawson’s latest public art installation features a large vape towering over a tiny firefighter, and aims to raise questions on fire risks associated with vape shops in heritage buildings.
The artist is also the creator behind the city centre’s ‘AI assassin’ piece in December, which protested artificial intelligence in creative industries. He unveiled ‘Unexploded Vape’ on Buchanan Street today (March 21) in tribute to the heroic firefighters who battled the Union Street blaze on March 8- which began in a vape shop.
While the exact cause of the Union Street blaze is currently being probed by multiple agencies, lithium batteries found in vapes have been known to cause large and difficult-to-extinguish fires.
In the wake of the major fire, which destroyed dozens of businesses based in the 175-year-old building, questions have been raised on the rules and regulations surrounding vape shops.
Glasgow Live previously reported that First Minister John Swinney said he will consider making changes to planning laws after the tragedy.
The structure was erected over a wonky bollard on Buchanan Street(Image: Ashley Rawson/Supplied)
Rawson’s latest piece, made from canvas and vinyl and painted with acrylic, is installed over a “skew-wiff” bollard he kept noticing while walking up Buchanan Street.
The model vape, labelled as “burnt heritage flavour”, looms over the tiny firefighter, who comes complete with a shiny halo above his head. He looks up at the towering structure, which appears to be tipping over, soon to crush him.
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Rawson told Glasgow Live: “The piece is my tribute to Glasgow’s firefighters, but it also questions if there is a big ‘Unexploded Vape’ problem out there for Scotland and the UK’s heritage.”
He added on an Instagram post that documented the installation of the piece: “It’s about the scale or the potential scale of the problem and the vape shops in heritage buildings which are not designed to withstand this type of fire. This artwork shows a fireman who is blocked by a gigantic burnt heritage flavour vape.”
The installation can be found on Buchanan Street.