Artist Caroline Watson‘s new exhibition Here to the Roll Shop at the New Glasgow Society is a collection of photographic images taken with her mobile phone on a daily walk to a roll shop to pick up breakfast or lunch.
From her work at a residential unit in the east end of Glasgow for those at risk of homelessness, Caroline walks past a railway station and through a largely industrial and commercial area with small manufacturers and distributors, artists, and pockets of residential buildings among the functional, working environment.
The walks have made time for quiet observation of the changing weather and seasons, the plant life, the small creatures and vermin, affording her the pleasure of seeing plants taking their place alongside fences, kerbsides and brick walls, the clouds reflecting in brown puddles, and derelict land made magical by winter frost and the beautiful sky when the rain stops.
She says, ‘With these photographs, I’m finding beauty; nature showing up in all kinds of places, making itself known – nature rewilding itself. I think a lot about green spaces, not just the wild spaces, but urban parks and residential streets where nature is important and offers well-being, meaning and connection.’
To add to the photographic display, Caroline has created a zine for purchase, and there will be opportunity to view her collection From the Ground – initiated after receiving a visual artist and craft maker award, which has allowed her to develop her technical skills and look at ways of linking photography to the drawing she undertakes. These photographs were taken and adapted to reflect her continuing interest in green spaces, our attachment to place, and the human need for deeper connection, in these times of climate crisis.
Having studied in London, Ontario, Caroline graduated from Nova Scotia College of Art and Design in Halifax, and has exhibited in Scotland and Canada.
New Glasgow Society is a civic society and charity promoting, protecting and raising interest in the City of Glasgow, through campaigning, discussion, projects, talks and exhibitions.
