Background
Alan was born in Clydebank, then, a shipbuilding town on the outskirts of Glasgow steeped in the culture of a heavy industry town. He was brought up in a council house on a peripheral scheme on the edge of the countryside. Alan studied photography in Glasgow. This was a time of great socio-economic and political change known as ”the Thatcher years” A period when black and white documentary photography prevailed and recording and depicting the social divides and inequalities of that era was incumbent on the visual story tellers who lived and experienced this transition. So storytelling and documentary were in the ascendancy, also, at this time Thomas Joshua Cooper- an American whose introspective landscape pictures were the antithesis of the UK practise- created the photography course at Glasgow School of Art. He had a show at the Third Eye Gallery in Glasgow the exhibition and Cooper’s talk on his work were a welcome insight into a photographic approach which was influential on Alan
After college Alan was awarded bursaries from The Scottish Arts Council to work on his own projects- a suite of pictures expressing a sense of alienation. In addition Thomas Joshua Cooper had him exhibit in the photography department in the Art School. He also had a show at the Washington Street Arts Centre of the Clydebank pictures alongside an exhibition of the Farm Security Administration pictures. A programme that paid many significant photographers to cover the ‘Dust bowl’ of rural America during the Great Depression, photographers included Walker Evans an early influence on Alan.
Alan worked as a commercial photographer with the intention of producing personal photography alongside his paid work. However, a successful commercial practise dominated his time and headspace. Whilst always creating work of interest during this time it was not until the last few years that he rediscovered his purpose and intensity. This had evolved from a family holiday on Crete with phone photography, which was a wonderfully freeing process. This freeing process continued on Instagram and gradually became an altogether more serious activity
Clydebank 1986
Clydebank 1986
Crete 2013
Skye 2002
Harris 2005
Lewis 2005
Harris 2012
Lewis 2008
The Galleries
' Street furniture and urban marks’
An abstract series using the urban environment to express a distillation of personal and public issues. I find that the utilitarian nature of street furniture and it's marks (intentional or otherwise) chimes with me in a number of ways- graphically and psychologically
Peripheral
I was born in Faifley- a peripheral housing scheme. The periperal housing schemes were a response to industrial polution in Glasgow. House people in the countryside and fresh air. A great idea, unfortunately the housing wasn't great, that said, as a wee boy, I loved playing in the fields and the burn.
Clydebank and the Glasgow area in general were changing the old, big employing heavy industries - shipbuilding, sewing machine manufacture, train manufacture had died or were dying, the markets move on but people are left behind- peripheral it would seem.
‘Gorge’
The places photographed are easily accessible, indeed there are paths and viewing areas. What these places have in common is that they are deep sided gorges initially formed by glacial action. The rock formations, the flow of the water, the erosion of the rock by the water, the vegetation, they all combine to form an harmonious view- hence their popularity- particularly the waterfalls. However, despite the land management, the wildness still prevails.
A conventional picture was not what I felt expressed the recognition. The movement of the camera during long exposures gave me an abstract that felt closer to that romantic connection.
‘Loch Ardinning’
Very local to where I stay, Loch Ardinning is a wildlife reserve. Similar to the ‘Gorge’ project it is a very popular walk. However, the variety of landscape, wetland, woodland, water pools and a loch has offered so much. The elements have allowed me a range of expression, sometimes the simple joy of being there other times the darker mood of an imminent pandemic.
'The Clearings'
In Scotland forrestry is big business- or at least it takes up a lot of ground- and when the trees reach maturity they are harvested. I think the aftermath of this is interesting. It has an obvious apocalyptic look, war torn. However, for me it is the mealncholic lone standing trees and tangle of stumps and broken branches that holds interest. This is not necessrily a comment on the industry - as far as I am aware there is an ecological plan to the aftermath- the elements of post harvesting strike a chord with my melancholic view.
'From the garden'
A project I started in 2013. The original idea was to do a picture for each month of the year. taking a selection of flowers or vegetation from the garden. This I did and I enjoyed doing so enormously. Every now and then I take something from the garden to photograph in my studio. During the UK lockdown from March through to June this proved to be my main photographic activity.
'Jazz Project'
I got lucky and had some work in Paris so on a whim, after work, I decided to go to a jazz club. The 'Sunset/Sunside' club in les Halles, nestled amonst the Irish Bars and Australian pubs did not fill me with confidence. However, as soon as I got downstairs it felt like home - the Henri Texier Quartet were just wonderful. I have been back several times.
So basically when I went away to work I looked out a jazz club, so in London, Pizza Express, The Vortex and upstairs at Ronnies. In Glasgow we have lots going on now, thanks in large part to the Royal Conservatoire Scotland and the jazz course set up by Tommy Smith. So the Merchants House Jazz is a pop up, the Glad Cafe and The Rumshack have jazz nights organised by jazz musicians. Unfortunately the Blue Arrow - the only designated jazz venue has closed and sorely missed.
Henri Texier Quartet
Eddie Henderson at Pizza Express
Upstairs at Ronnies
Merchants House pop up
The Glad Cafe
Rumshack