No More Showings
Over the past four years of living in Glasgow I’ve developed a deep appreciation for cinema-going, not just as light entertainment, but as a cultural ritual rooted in place and history. This interest culminated in a Design History and Theory extended essay which looks at the evolution of the cinematic experience, with a particular focus on Glasgow’s rich, and often overlooked, cinematic heritage. I examine how different venues have shaped and diversified the experience of watching films, alongside which audiences these changes are aimed at serving. In a time when streaming and solitary viewing dominate, a trend further fuelled by the Covid-19 Pandemic, I aim to understand what continues to draw people to the communal space of cinema.
Beginning my research, I discovered that Glasgow once had more cinemas per capita than any other city in Europe, earning the nickname ‘Cinema City’. While most of these venues have now been demolished, many still stand, some derelict and some repurposed. I was surprised to learn that places I had often visited, such as Q-Club, Sub Club, and the Savoy Centre, were once bustling cinemas. This inspired me to photograph a selection of these sites, with the intention of revealing their cinematic history, hidden in plain sight, and perhaps stirring a sense of nostalgia for their former glory.
As Glasgow continues to change, some of these buildings will soon disappear altogether, the O2 ABC, for instance, is already half demolished, its iconic circular roof misshapen from the infamous Mackintosh fire. With that in mind, this project also serves as a visual archive – an attempt to document not just the architecture, but the role these spaces have played in shaping collective experiences and urban identity.
The project was shot entirely on a Hasselblad 500C/M with an 80mm f/2.8 CFE Carl Zeiss Planar lens, using black and white film. Film photography felt more appropriate than digital, as the project’s concept centers on slowing down to truly observe and appreciate the architectural history of a building. The deliberate process of setting up a medium format camera and composing each shot added a sense of intention and care. This analog approach also echoed the project’s cinematic themes, with the tactile experience of exposing and processing film paralleling the projection and materiality of early cinema, tying the concept and execution together cohesively.
