Letters from Glasgow
Dear Reader,
This series is a documentation of some of the pieces of artwork made over the course of my final year. It holds the stories of some faces that make up the city which I now call home. It is a documentary in paint. Drawings and watercolour sketches and oil paintings make up the research output of time spent living in, observing and contributing to life in the city of Glasgow. Captured in paint are moments of overlooked life shared by its inhabitants, as well as large scale portraits of a few faces of those that live or have lived here.
Community is a funny word with lots of associations and expectations that come with its use. We, here in Glasgow, are unified by sharing the same geographical location. I hope that these works might ask more of us, and spark a greater connection between two human beings than just living in the same land.
Within this series are ten large scale portraits of some of the people that make up this city. The subjects of these paintings all have their own story and reason for being here. Snippets of shared conversations are included in the publication, alongside the paintings and drawings made of each person.
Some people painted I know well, others are newfound friends that began through reaching out in conversation. Some people have lived here all their lives, others less time and some just spent a short season here. Glasgow is full of life. Here are some of the lives and stories that make up its culture.
Paintings have become, for me, a way to linger with a story, listen and stop. I hope this might somehow be a way to meet these cohabitants of Glasgow, like letters of introduction or an encouragement to engage with the community in which we find ourselves.
In these conversations I asked each person painted about the place of Glasgow in their story. Many beautiful and inspiring things came of each conversation, relating to the starting point of our joint geographical location, but also about other things as we continued talking. Themes of home and place, familiarity and pace, art and music all were spoken about as we shared time together. The paintings are the outworking of these interactions.
Other paintings of clusters of people or other mundane moments of life here are also included. These scenes might be familiar but I hope they might prompt you to see them differently and look again.
May this spark your curiosity in the people and stories that surround you, wherever you are.
Love from,
Esther
