The WIP #18: The Meta Position

The Week in Photos (27 April - 3 May 2024)

The meta position is when we attempt to transcend the messiness of life by taking an elevated perspective. It can be useful, but taken too far it leaves us detached from reality.

I am guilty of taking the meta position. Indeed, it is one of the reasons I like photography. With a camera in my hand, I can observe without participating.

I was thinking about this after visiting two office blocks this week. They weren't exactly skyscrapers, but even being on the tenth floor felt like a privileged position.

On Tuesday, Mikaela Loach talked about climate justice with Zarina Ahmad in a building overlooking Central Station. Loach became notorious for walking out of Edinburgh Book Festival in protest of its sponsorship by Baillie Gifford. Her activism is all about urgency combined with community engagement. Getting stuck in, not standing back.

On Wednesday, we hosted UX Glasgow talks at Weir Group offices. We had two great speakers, including Vinishree on the joyful chaos of the co-design process. Who knew about the rooftop garden on these Buchanan St flats?

On Thursday, I visited the GSA for the Class Matters exhibition. It featured the artists who participated in the symposium of the same name this time last year. I got talking to Nicky, pictured here in a T-shirt she designed. She is a 4th year student from Govan and was especially inspired by Trackie McLeod.

Last Saturday, Ellie and I went to Hamilton for Strathclyde parkrun. Ellie hated the design of this mausoleum for the 10th Duke of Hamilton. In the nearby museum, we learned that he was buried in a sarcophagus he thought belonged to an Egyptian prince; however, the sarcophagus was in fact designed for a woman, and the Duke's legs had to be broken in order to fit. No dancing at Vogue for him.

Until next week!