Chris Leslie

Red Road Underground Exhibition

Red Road Underground is the culmination of several years of work by artists Chris Leslie and Mitch Miller in documenting the final days of the Red Road housing scheme in Glasgow.

Through photography, film and illustration their work examines the lives of those who lived in the city's most striking modern housing development. Based on in-depth interviews with current and ex-residents, and exclusive access to sites now closed off to the public, their work offers a unique take on the legacy of the flats.

We have been invited to exhibit at the recently revamped New Glasgow Society gallery in February - March 2012, to coincide with the demolition of the first two slab blocks in the same month. The show Red Road Underground will show previously unseen material concerned primarily (but not exclusively) with the underground leisure complexes built at Red Road. This included a massive bingo hall and a nautically themed bar called The Brig. Both of these sites have been closed since the 1990's. In early 2011 they were briefly re-opened to allow inspection by the demolition company. We tagged along and found something not unlike a latter-day Pompeii where time suddenly came to a stop. The exhibition will run for four weeks and will coincide with the launch of a specially designed website, which can be viewed here - http://www.redroadunderground.co.uk/

EXHIBITION EVENTS:
Thursday 2nd February, 7-10pm
Red Road Underground: Private View (For Exhibition funders only)
In conjunction with The Drouth. Free refreshments and entertainment to mark the beginning of the Red Road Underground Exhibition.

Friday 3rd February 7pm
(PUBLIC EVENT, FREE) Red Road Underground Opening Night
The official launch night for The Red Road Underground Exhibition.

Saturday 18th February, 2-5pm
(PUBLIC EVENT, FREE) Red Road Beneath the Surface: Artists Talks with Chris Leslie, Mitch Miller and Alison Irvine, author of This Road is Red. Artists Chris Leslie and Mitch Miller welcome novelist Alison Irvine, author of This Road is Red.  Working through their respective disciplines of photography, illustration and the novel, all three artists have responded to the challenge of depicting the complex and rich history of the Red Road Flats. Here they will discuss how they approached the subject matter, the challenges (and opportunities) of working in such an environment and how the finished work reflects their experiences. There will also be an opportunity to buy copies of This Road is Red and have them signed by the author.

Friday 2nd March, 6.30-8.30pm
(PUBLIC EVENT, FREE) The Roots of Red Road: Discussing the wider legacy of the Red Road Flats. Join Johnny Rodger, lecturer in History + Theory at the Mackintosh School of Architecture (GSA) and invited guest speakers for debate and discussion on the wider cultural and political legacy of the Red Road Flats. When architect Sam Bunton dreamed of American style tower-blocks in 1960s Barmulloch he both identified with and distinguished himself amongst a pan-European trend for Modernist high rise residential developments. Now regarded by many as a wrong turn in urban planning and housing policy, the legacy of High Rise continues to provoke strong feelings and lively debate. A chance to hear from the experts on how Glasgow fits into the wider history of modernist architecture, and put your own questions to the panel.