The WIP #37: Bridges, Not Walls

The Week in Photos (7-13 September 2024)

A new bridge linking Govan and Partick opened last Saturday. Some worry it will change Govan’s character as West End hipsters colonise the pubs where Tennants is £3 a pint, but the atmosphere was upbeat on both sides.

I bumped into Susan Aitken, the beleaguered head of the council, who receives a lot of hate despite her having an impossible job. I congratulated her on the bridge being completed but couldn’t talk for long as the imperial guard stepped in.

To George Sq to document the pro-UK rally and its counter-protest. You can see more photos here.

The subjects of disinformation and tribalism were on my mind because we were discussing Naomi Klein’s Doppelganger in our book group. It’s not perfect but covers a lot of fascinating ground.

As promised last week, I made it along to the 2nd part of Niall McCallum’s show. The heaviness of materiality, ghosts of parties and former residents, plus an arrangement of TV stands made it a rewarding experience. Recommended.

As is Jeremy Deller’s Modern Institute show, where you can even get a free tea in a replica cafe. It brings together the banners he did for a procession at MIF in 2009. As ever with Deller, there is some tension in converting working class pride into art pieces but his intentions always seem positive.

Glasgow’s continuing problem with graffiti.