In a new exhibition opening at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery on Saturday visitors are invited on a journey through the history of architecture to explore the connection between photography, people and places.
Making Space is a free exhibition from the national photography collection with more than 40 photos dating from the 1840s to the present day and including some new acquisitions.
From Hill & Adamson’s early experiments on Edinburgh’s Calton Hill to spectacular contemporary photographs which capture the breathtaking scale of modern buildings. Standout modern works include Andreas Gursky’s San Francisco which goes on display at the Portrait for the first time since its acquisition in 1999. Deliberately disorientating, Gursky uses digital manipulation to challenge perception, with humans often appearing insignificant and dominated by their built environment. The exhibition also features three key loans from Tate, including work by renowned photographers Bernd and Hilla Becher, Candida Höfer and Hiroshi Sugimoto.
Making Space introduces several acquisitions made by National Galleries of Scotland in recent years, including six works from Scottish photographer Chris Leslie’s Disappearing Glasgow series and a further six from Canadian born Sylvia Grace Borda’s project exploring modernist architecture in East Kilbride. Untitled (Rosemary and Ocean) and Untitled (Sweetbriar and Atlantic) by Philadelphia based photographer Mark Havens round off the new acquisitions, with his colourful works gifted to National Galleries Scotland in 2019.
The social history of Scotland plays a central role within Making Space, with some of the earliest work providing a window into Scotland’s past, and more recent work tackling the issues of today. Historic highlights include David Octavius Hill and Robert Adamson’s photographs from the early 1840’s, depicting the construction of Edinburgh’s Sir Walter Scott Monument. These iconic images not only record the birth of one of the Scottish capital’s most recognisable manmade features, but also provide the first known photographic documentation of a building site.
Sir John Leighton, Director-General of the National Galleries of Scotland said: “This continued series of free exhibitions at the Portrait Gallery is a fantastic way to explore the history of photography though the richness and diversity of the national collection. Static buildings were a really good subject matter for early cameras, and remain so for modern photographers with evolving cityscapes.
“Making Space: Photographs of Architecture presents an opportunity to not only marvel in the evolution of photography, but also consider the impact our built environment has on society, health, and sustainability. We are proud to present several new acquisitions by contemporary photographers from Scotland and beyond, displayed for the first time alongside work by the trailblazers who inspired them.”
Laura Chow, Head of Charities at People’s Postcode Lottery, said: “Architecture impacts us in ways we don’t often realise – the built environment around us affects how we feel. Our players have raised over £5 million in funding for the National Galleries of Scotland. I’m delighted that this money means exhibitions like Making Space are free for everyone to enjoy and learn more about architecture and how it impacts people’s lives across Scotland.”
Making Space: Photographs of Architecture opens at the Portrait on Saturday 7 October and is supported by the players of People’s Postcode Lottery, with funds from the Postcode Culture Trust.
https://www.nationalgalleries.org/exhibition/making-space-photographs-architecture
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