As the new version of the Gorbals was being built, we were commissioned to document Queen Elizabeth Square Estate before demolition.
This estate was a classic example of 1960's housing and shopping centre in the middle of tower blocks. It was based on generous ideas to
move on from the previous slums, but like most of these developments, social exclusion, lack of amenities, non-defined public spaces,
bad construction and lack of maintenance created new problems.
After half a century the memory of the 1940's slums turned into idealized images of close-knit communities and nice old stone buildings, forgetting
the roughness and social problems. The 1960's estates are now being demolished without even being considered, forgetting people's memories attached
to these places.
By selecting and cutting out the most banal surfaces - post office counter, bookie's chair, pub's smoky wallpaper, kitchen tiles, living
room ceiling, bedroom curtains, etc- we chose to keep an everyday environment without celebration or glory, just memory.
The two hundred 15 by 15 cm samples were exhibited at the Lighthouse in Glasgow, sealed in vacuum-pack pockets and listed, alongside
presentations of the new buildings and the public programme.
The Artworks Programme