Alasdair Watson is a photographer and artist, working with families, community groups, cultural organisations, and other creators. He uses his photography to connect people, tell their stories, and help create joyful memories. His artistic projects are passionately rooted in the landscapes and languages of Glasgow and Scotland, and through the ritual of travel, connection, and creation, Alasdair seeks to tell stories of how we belong to each other and our surroundings.

Hi Alasdair! How did your artistic journey start?
I’ve been creative all my life, making art for as long as I can remember, but only on my own at home. I didn’t pursue artistic subjects at school, university, or work, and it was only well into my twenties when I hit a dead end in my career that I decided to listen to the creative instincts in my mind, and actually put them to use. As a result, I am entirely self-taught, and photography has been my soul profession for almost fifteen years. For most of this time, I have been using my photography to support community and cultural organisations. It was only with lockdown in 2020 that I gave myself permission (and time) to concentrate on my own projects, and my creative practice has since emerged to encompass photography, writing, and any other creative medium I can use to express myself.

How has your practice changed over time?
My photography is generally very people centred – I look to find someone interesting to engage with, or follow faces until I can capture a smile, laugh, or embrace. However in the last couple of years I have found myself searching for what we leave behind, the remnants of past communities, and a glimpse into our own future. I think this is a result of my concern over humanity’s destruction of the environment, and uncertainty surrounding our place on the planet. It’s still about people though, the connections we make, and the ways we share them with each other. There’s still hope within my work, and I’m sure I’ll return to including faces in my analogue photos again soon.

What emotions or reactions do you hope viewers experience when they see your artwork?
I hope that I can inspire hope. I’d also like to think that by offering unusual perspectives on the familiar or nostalgic, I can induce a sense of shared history and connection. I also like to walk the line between surreal and humorous, creating stories which are very weird, but in a funny or comforting way.

What do you do to keep motivated and interested in your work?
I try new things as often as possible. I like attending writing workshops to help kickstart the flow of ideas, and I’ll go to painting or drawing classes even if I don’t intend to paint or draw as part of a project – you never know what ideas it will spark. In this case, I ended up responding to my photography while taking part in a poetry challenge, and painted those Scots words onto the frames. That just felt like the perfect way to finish this triptych, and wouldn’t have happened without joining new experiences with peers.

Can you elaborate on the significance or symbolism of the chosen title of your work?These three images come from my Street Photography book “Glasgow’s Winter”, which I created during the Winter of 2020/2021. Memories of this time are fuzzy, like trying to remember a dream, and my daily walks with my camera felt very dream-like, walking along eerie empty streets, looking for lonely, liminal scenes to capture. Dreams isn’t just the word on the torn banner I pinned to the fence, it’s how that time in our lives felt.

Will your next project be a continuation of your current style or are you experimenting with something different? Can you share a glimpse of your next project?
I have a number of projects in the works, but the big one I have been working on for some time currently has the working title Scotland’s Future Past. The images I have been creating for this are very in line with the photos in Dreams, but I have travelled all over Scotland finding the remains of communities which came before us. Once completed some time in 2025, this project will take the form of a large photo book and exhibition.

Are there any upcoming events or additional information you would like the audience to know? 
Opening on December 18th, 5-8pm, in Nicolls on Dumbarton Road, is Big Softies, a hug in the form of an art exhibition. Myself and a group of friends have created a joyful and wholesome collection of artworks around the theme of our favourite childhood toys. Alongside my photography are paintings, drawings, prints, and sculpture, and it’s going to be a very friendly and charming space to visit in the run up to Christmas.

Find out more about Alasdair and his work on Instagram. Our Winter Open Call exhibition features an incredible collection of works by twenty-six artists who have each considered the season and explored the interplay of light and shadow, warmth and cold, presence and absence, through a wide range of mediums and styles. Chiaroscuro runs at Six Foot Gallery until Thursday 9th January 2025