Chronesthesia

Time, Space, Photography.

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Over the past 5 weeks I’ve had the pleasure of working with Parklea Branching Out‘s Tuesday morning art group as they learned how to use photography as a means of communication by developing a visual diary to outline what Parklea means to them. Parklea itself is a fantastic facility which works with adults and children with learning and physical disabilities, giving them somewhere that they can work towards and participate fully in social and community projects, and the pride and respect which both the clients and staff have for Parklea comes through in the enthusiasm and excitement which they took on this task. 

Here’s just a few snaps which represent my experience with the group, and I hope that they enjoyed the project as much as I did!

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Photographers! Wherever you may be! The gallery i’m currently working in is looking for applicants from photographers of all shapes and sizes internationally to apply for the SFG Photo Open and Residency opportunity - get involved! Details here http://www.curatorspace.com/opportunities/detail/six-foot-photography-open/136

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The Alternative Media and their "Buycott" aren't sitting comfortable with me right now. This has been coming for a long time, no matter the outcome of the Independence Referendum and I urge everyone to take a step back before ploughing your money into outlets such as Bella Caledonia or Wings over Scotland. Let me start by saying I am in full support of the public withholding the out dated and unreasonable television license fee, I believe that prior to the referendum the BBC had already shown itself to be a particularly useful political tool and during the Independence debate the institution completely failed to represent the argument in an impartial or fair manner.  During this time, sites like Bella Caledonia - who seem to be at the forefront of this campaign -along with Wings Over Scotland, Newsnet Scotland and various other blogs and social media avenues provided a counterpoint to the traditional media outlets by putting a spin on the news which appealed to Yes voters. Indeed, they should be applauded for their tireless effort and ingenuity in the face of an extreme backlash from the mainstream media, just this week The Scotsman payed an out of court settlement to Wings Over Scotland owner Rev. Stuart Campbell for defamation, however it is clear already that the success of these outlets is built not on impartiality but on a system of confirmation bias. Just like the BBC would use articles to confirm the stereotypical fears of someone edging towards a No vote, so Bella, Wings and Co. would manipulate the stories in order to shore up the conviction of a Yes voter. Do we really believe that this will change? if not, why is it something we would openly fund?

Today, Bella Caledonia laid out their plans for any funding which they receive. Hoping to catch the wave of energy which is in danger of breaking violently against the rocks of post referendum Scotland. In essence, their detail is simple, they hope to expand. Just like any other business, expansion needs capital and like many in this age of crowd funding they hope to find this capital from us. This isn't a simple Kickstarter campaign though, is it? This is a call to a section of Scottish society who are currently going through somewhat of an identity crisis, a newly politicised people who are looking for guidance. Ask yourself before hitting that PayPal button, are you simply looking for a media outlet you agree with or is guidance more effective when you are able to understand the whole range of angles and options available to you? If we take a closer look at the proposals from Bella Caledonia we can see that they are looking to strengthen "Citizen Journalism" in Scotland. On the face of it this is fine, but scratch the surface and think about the sheer lack of media literacy which has been created by the mainstream media and apply that to our situation. It's all very well asking people to blog, photograph and video but all of this audience participation means nothing unless the reader, and indeed that citizen journalist themselves are fully aware of the machinations which have led us here. Media literacy should be at the top of the bill for any reformation of the industry in Scotland, yet Bella Caledonia fail to mention this in their proposals, there is no proposal for drop ins, or workshops or maybe even a series of articles which might open the eyes of readers to the manipulation techniques which all media outlets use. Without a high level of media literacy, all the "Buycotts" in the world will change little. Ask yourself, before you spend your hard earned cash on this emotional plea, do these outlets truly represent you? Do your research on the editors and contributors to the sites in question. What are their own histories and what are their current, and past links to the media? Do your due diligence, is this true media reformation or simply a transference of power?

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When Hope Stood Up To Fear.

The day before the referendum George Square, Glasgow, 17/09/14

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So it's finally here. September 18th 2014, the day Scotland decides. In just over six hours, the polls open and we decide whether to leave, or stay within the United Kingdom. I made my decision around 18 months ago, and since then it's been one hell of a journey. I've watched and listened as gradually the Scottish people awoke from their slumber, tentatively engaging with the ideas that independence could put forward to them, slowly getting ready to stand up and be counted. It's been a long road, and I'm not going to get preachy now about Cameron, Salmond or any of that lot as the time for debate has passed. Instead, I want to take a moment and think about the bonds of friendship and community that have been strengthened through this process. In the last six months or so I have met and spoken with some amazing people, people I am now proud to call friends. The people who showed me that it was possible to take matters into your own hands and work with others to strengthen communities and bring a little bit of pride back into how we deal with things, and those who listened, argued, spoke, marched, danced and drank with me during this whole affair. I'm not alone in feeling a sense of nostalgia, my story has been repeated hundreds of thousands of times across the country and that's why it angers me when the political classes and the London media imply that Scotland could fall into violent mayhem at any minute over the next day or two, as I believe this is driven by their own fear. It is them who fear the engagement of people, no matter how they plan to vote in this referendum, it is their jobs on the line when they come under real scrutiny from a nation which was sleeping for longer than it should have been. A fear of violence and dissent is a tool created to ensure disengagement. So go and vote Scotland, no matter which box you tick you are adding to a rising fear among those who have failed us for so long. By simply placing a cross in a box, you are reminding them who they work for, you are letting them know that you are watching. On Friday, when the votes are counted we start a new beginning for Scotland and for the British Isles around us, we will need to become friends and allies once more. Good luck Scotland, do me proud.

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An Open Reply to Tom Bradby, ITN Political Editor.  Dear Tom, I've just read your opinion piece on the  ITN Website

While I entirely understand that this is a blog style opinion piece, I am surprised that someone like yourself does not see fit to add a little more insight or understanding to something like this, rather than simply adding to the general confusion and deliberate heightening of the fear factor which is playing a huge role in Scotland right now. You have given us a piece which highlights the need for journalists to analyse logically, give us the facts and leave the emotion to the audience yet, bizarrely, you spend three quarters of the argument talking about your own emotions, getting misty eyed and nostalgic for warzones and Northern Ireland's troubled past. I realise, of course, that it is natural to defend your profession and it is commendable that you do so, however in doing so you seem to have left out a few facts. Your main point of concern is the BBC Protest, you seem surprised that this has happened and wonder about the "Strangely well made prepared banners". This is in fact the fourth such protest to take place this year Tom, they've had time to think things through with regards to banners. We're quite a creative bunch us Scots, as you'll have noticed by some of the humorous observations those banners carried. Above is a selection of images from the three that I have attended, as you can see they have all been very well populated by a relaxed, friendly crowd made up of men women and children who believe that their state broadcaster is not providing them with the respect and decency that they deserve, the respect and decency that they are bound by their own charter to provide. Do these people look like an angry, intimidating mob to you? The very fact that the likes of yourself and Jim Murphy MP have been taken by surprise at these protests may tell a story in itself,  is it that you are both frightened by the level of engagement and scrutiny that your respective positions are now witnessing, and feel the need to try and stop it? Why else, would you fail to mention the thousands of Yes supporters who gathered in Glasgow, Inverness, Stirling and other parts of the country on Saturday, without trouble and in the case of Glasgow at least, sharing the same streets with No campaigners often leading to animated, but peaceful debates on the street? What you also fail to mention is that there have been no arrests at any of the BBC protests, which over the piece must have amassed close to ten thousand people, that one of them took place during the commonwealth games without disturbing anything that the BBC or Glasgow 2014 had arranged less than 100 feet from the protest site.

Right now, I believe that this is a fantastic time to live in Scotland. In the space of two years we have gone from complete apathy towards politicians and the media to a point where people believe that they can have a say, regardless of the outcome of the referendum. That they can have a say, and that it will actually matter. You are right, it is a journalists job to " test logic, analyse proposals, probe for intellectual weakness and to ask questions on behalf of our audience". All we're asking is that you do so.

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Blue Nile/ White Nile A wee break from referendum stuff today - don't worry, it'll be back Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday - to show a wee selection of work from a recent experiment i worked on with artist Victoria Shennan. Blue Nile/White Nile is a look at how each of us interpret the flow of information and imagery that hits us on a daily basis, and how we turn that interpretation into something which we then direct towards others for them to add their own ideas to and build upon. Starting with a simple game of word association, this allowed myself and Victoria to limit and control the information we were dealing with, single words interpreted and fired back at each other with our own addition added to create development. Once the required number of words was reached, we then had 48 hours to capture our visual interpretations of these words onto 35mm film. The film was exposed once, then passed on to the other participant for them to expose the film again with their own. The nature of information becomes clear in the final images, with both photographers ideas merging into one single image, a development on the original words building up into a more complex flow of ideas which is then passed onto the viewer to continue that stream with their own additions.

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Protest Against BBC Bias 14/9/14

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Protest Against BBC Bias 14/9/14

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Protest Against BBC Bias 14/9/14

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15 minutes well spent? You all know the tune....

We don't want your education We don't need your thought control No media empire or Boris Johnson We don't want that nuclear bomb Hey! Westminster! Leave those kids alone! All in all it's just a, big fat nuclear bomb We don't want another big fat nuclear bomb.

We don't need your Tory wankers New Labour liars or UKIP trolls No House of Lords they're unelected We don't need your illegal wars Hey! Westminster! Leave those kids alone! All in all it's just a, big fat nuclear bomb They don't need another big fat nuclear bomb.

(Wrong! Do it again! If you vote for independence, you can't join the EU! How can you have independence if you want to join the EU?! Hey Putin! Behind the bikesheds...stand still laddie!)

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Could Independence Save Rangers? Right. As many of you will know by this stage, I'm completely and utterly sick of the undercurrent of "Rangers fans will all vote No because they're big proddy orangemen" attitude which is at work in certain sections of the Yes Movement. It pisses me off that we, people apparently searching for more social justice, greater equality and unity feel the need to isolate a fairly large section of society and label it under a stereotype.

However, enough about that. I'm gonna break my politics and football rules for a wee minute with an appeal to the Rangers fans.

As we all know, for the last few years Rangers fans have been punished over and over again for the mistakes of past owners, and for the downright treachery of whatever crop of sleazy, ignorant scum owns us at the moment - let's face it, it could be anyone at this stage. The fans are in a position where they can do nothing, despite attempts to raise funds to buy the club from two separate groups we have become suspicious - burned too many times by power hungry mongrels who seek nothing more than to strip the clubs assets and run it into the ground. Administration looms for the second time and there is nothing we can do, as the owners have no legal binding to let us know what's happening, let alone speak to us about taking over.

The Scottish Greens however, have recently released proposals which may change that. Currently in it's early stages, they wish to put forward ideas which through use of the Land Reform Act and their own Community Empowerment Bill would see changes to the rules which govern sports clubs and treat the fans in a similar manner to tenants with absentee landlords and other community groups. "Greens believe football clubs are prone to suffering from many of the same problems tenants have historically had with absentee landlords, and that football clubs are frequently at the core of communities across Scotland. We believe that a right for fans to buy their clubs, either at any point or when their clubs get into financial difficulties, would be desirable in policy terms and also that the CER Bill represents the ideal vehicle for such legislative changes"

What the Greens are saying, is something that Rangers fans have been saying for a long time - We Deserve Better - we deserve to be able to know what is happening within the club, which as outlined in this document creates a centre of community for many people. We deserve to be able to have a say in how that community is dealt with, and how it's assets are managed. This doesn't only affect the club however, this also affects the way in which Scottish Football is run. The SFA & The SPFL have all but destroyed football in Scotland through poor management, diminishing the level of our game to a mere shadow of it's former past yet they still control the ability to retract or apply "membership" to a club. Remember the issues over Rangers membership? The dodgy, backroom dealings which screwed all of Scottish football over? Well that could have been avoided under these proposals. "As a result, the right to participate economically in Scottish football flows from ownership by the football club company of these assets. A club without a stadium can share a ground with another club; a club without a league membership share cannot play football against anyone else in the world. The goal therefore is to enhance in legislation the definition of eligible assets or property to encompass the limited companies that own league membership shares in Scottish football governing bodies. This, ultimately, is what defines a Scottish football club, and is not dependent on whether a club’s ultimate corporate parent has a registered office in Cumbernauld or the Cayman Islands"

Unfortunately, although regulations on sporting bodies are devolved already, it must be pointed out that they cannot make changes to the way in which the businesses which control sporting bodies are legislated without full powers being given to the Scottish Government. " There are limitations to the powers of the devolved institutions here, though: the prescribed forms of corporate vehicle and terms of their registration are not devolved, so more radical options such as creating a specific legal form for sports clubs, as is the norm in the rest of Europe are not possible. Similarly, the Scottish Parliament will not be able to amend insolvency legislation, but can use insolvency as a trigger for the right to buy"

So, stop for a second, ignore The Blue Order and their wish to speak for every Ibrox atendee and have a think about what these changes to Government rulings could do for Rangers. It won't happen in time to save us from a second administration, but providing we survive that, we're still going to be under the threat of dodgy dealings and unscrupulous governing bodies. With this, we could one day be truly "More Than A Club". http://www.scottishgreens.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2014/01/Fans-right-to-buy-Green-submission.pdf

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2 weeks today we could be waking up in a new country. A country that, despite the fear and trepidation associated with taking responsibility for it's own actions has decided that it can do so with confidence. A country that wants to join the world on a basis of community and friendship, rather than mutually assured destruction. A country that has shows it's wish to find a way of ensuring that the least fortunate in society are stopped from falling through the cracks. A country that looks to use it's resources to benefit society, and not simply the so called elite. A country whose people have shown, that despite having a multitude of obstacles thrown in its path, despite the leering attempts to throw it off track, that it with hard work, commitment and focus it can achieve it's goals through democracy. Who wouldn't want to live in that country?

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Independence Referendum Haiku I-VI

Boredom, and a real need for it to be September 19th, got the better of me today at work. So I wrote some Haiku. Independence Referendum Haiku I Protect The Union Was the slogan that they cried But nobody told me why. Independence Referendum Haiku II Keep the status quo! Is that what everyone wants? Francis Rossi, Aye? Independence Referendum Haiku III Trident Makes Jobs But it also might kill folk Because it's a bomb Independence Referendum Haiku IV Guy aff the telly I don't really care for him Or my kids future Independence Referendum Haiku V Vote Yes or Vote No For healthcare or unjust wars Vote Cure or Vote Kill Independence Referendum Haiku VI Who egged Murphy The pavement politician? It's civil war now.

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I'm voting ‪#‎YesBecause‬ there is no Status Quo.  Scotland has changed in the last couple of years, and Scotland will continue to change after September 18th. People I know are discussing politics and social ideology with passion and understanding, despite almost a life time of apathy they are out canvassing, leafleting & protesting. They are attending, and indeed participating in debate and discussion, not only about a better Scotland but about a better world for all and I truly hope that this won't change after the referendum.

September's vote, in itself, is not everything. It's not until after the votes are counted and the decision made that the real work starts.  Of course, there will be some bitter disappointment, no matter which way it goes, but after that it is time to work together to put our opinions on the union aside and ensure that Scotland becomes the progressive, forward thinking country we know it can be.

This will be made easier, of course, by a Yes vote. A vote which moves us away from the domineering and detached Westminster system which has failed us time and time again.  Instead of fighting to protect our NHS, our education system, our heritage and our culture we will instead be able to focus on improving them, taking them forward into a modern world.  Instead of spending billions on outdated and unneeded nuclear weapons, we will be able to spend money on our children's formative years and education.  Instead of fighting for what we have, we can improve it.

A Yes vote is a vote of confidence in the people of Scotland, the people who have been awakened to the world around them and the people who will fight to make this country better.

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Functional Ambience. Another couple from last night's meanderings. Glasgow, 2014.

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Functional Ambience, Glasgow, 2014. A couple of new images from the ongoing Functional Ambience project.