Allan Crescent Flats
FLAT 124 - Bird's Eye View
Abbeyview Library - Ghost Lines
Carol Lambie
SEE EYE 23rd - 24th March 2007
On demolition day the views from the upper flats on Allan Crescent
will vanish, as the flats are due to be replaced by two-storey houses
which will look dwarfish in comparison. Like the ex tenants, many
birds have built their nests in the buildings, and they will have
to move house as well - but at least they will still be able to
enjoy the view, flying around in the newly liberated skies. In contrast
to the light outside Carol Lambie’s work is shown in the darkness
of a boarded up flat with no access to the surrounding landscape
except for the views described through illuminated drawings, which
are projected onto the bare walls. Although the illustrations were
originally hand-drawn they are shown as a light projection, representing
the daylight image in an electric form. The austerity of the dark
and deserted space, and the concentration on an obscured aspect
of life there – the boarded-up view outside – offers
the audience the chance to immerse themselves in that view, mediated
through the eyes of an artist, one last time before it is lost forever.
The demolition of the flats in Allan and Duncan Crescent - part of the regeneration of Abbeyview - will change the entire landscape of the place. Often it is not until something changes, or disappears, that the eye registers its existence in our lives. Thus Carol’s work acts as a memorial, seeking the attention of as many eyes as possible, perhaps in order to provide a bridge between the human experience of living in the flats and the radical transformation effected upon their demolition. The window structure is included in several of the drawings to frame the view and give the viewer the sense of experiencing the obscured vantage point for themselves. The images represent the views looking around the curve of Allan Crescent, the back courts and details within them.
At the same moment of destruction the removal the buildings will
open up entirely new vistas, such as the Firth of Forth, and the
hills surrounding Abbey view, an issue which is addressed in an
accompanying work, entitled Ghost Lines, which can be found in Abbey
view library. This piece takes the form of an illustration of the
changing landscape as seen from the library window, being drawn
on the window pane itself. Thus Carol’s work deals both with
remembrance of the past landscape, and the ever-changing reality
of the present one.
Chris Hladowski
Bird's Eye View Story
Carol Lambie
The woman at the bus stop starts up a conversation. “They
are pulling down these flats, eh. I still live in that block but
I’m the only one left. It’s full of damp though, eh.
I’ve got it lovely but the front rooms are full of damp.”
I’m standing looking at the close that will house our art
event and it seems rather trivial in comparison. She is waiting
on a house for her and her 5 kids to move into, not knowing when
or where she will move. Regardless of this, she tells me that she
desperately wants to redecorate her flat, although her boyfriend
is having none of it, such is the need to have and take pride in
her home. She asks me if I am photographing the damp on the roughcast
and I explain that the mossy veins remind me of tree roots. I vaguely
tell her the artwork will involve trees, aware that she would just
like someone to tell her for definite what, where and when, in order
that she is able to settle. As I speak however, I realise how relative
and poignant the motif of the tree is.
The flats of Allan and Duncan Crescent have dominated the inner
circle of Abbeyview for tens of years, each family settling and
making nests with what they had. The connotations of putting roots
down and of family trees are strong, with the buildings becoming
the trees themselves in the landscape starkly devoid of mature wood.
I enter the close and climb the stairs to the top flat. From the
living room window I look out onto the central common ground of
grass, bright structures and the Bowling Club. This view will fall
along with the window on demolition day, the vantage point never
to be used again when two storey houses replace the lofty buildings.
Standing quietly looking out of the window, I become aware of birds
chattering in an exposed air vent beside the window. They have the
same view as I do, having made their home here in this branchless
concrete structure when the human inhabitants left. They too will
have to find a new home, their high, safe houses disappearing as
the regeneration continues.
The community of Abbeyview will cheer come demolition day, the dampness
and modern antisocial nature of the common closes never to be repeated
here. Rightly so, since these structures tried but failed to provide
healthy, user-friendly homes for the community. Woven into this
however, are views, memories and people putting down their roots
in the area. The flats will be razed but the roots will continue
to grow deep as the regeneration transforms this proud area for
the community who belong here.
Abbeyview Library - Ghost Lines
Often it is not until something disappears that the eye registers
its existence in our lives. With each visit, the users of Abbeyview
Library have subconsciously absorbed the landscape of Allan Crescent
from the window.
The image on the glass serves to focus the mind’s eye on the
panorama that once was there, before the demolition of the flats
changes it forever. As the viewer aligns themselves with the drawing
they will see it from the artists perspective and the detail will
complete the image.
Just as the library engages and informs us so too does the image
drawn onto the glass. Whereas the library gives the information
to take away, this piece of work gives the information of what has
been taken away from us and will remain a reminder until the demolition
is completed.
Chris
Hladowski
Hanna
Tuulikki
Michael
Wilson
Karen
Vaughan
