MA Distinction
In late 2009 I was awarded a Distinction for my Masters in Documentary Photography. The course ran for two years part time and was the first course of its kind to be delivered online via London College of Communication. For my project I chose to document my home city of Glasgow and the untold stories of regeneration. Using photography, video and audio this was a project aimed at capturing people’s hopes, fading memories, lost livelihoods and the disappearance of homes and communities; issues that can be largely ignored in the utopian goals of regeneration. Now that the project is complete, most of the areas I documented no longer exist. Paddy’s Market has closed and is an empty lane. The Oatlands housing scheme has disappeared entirely and the high rise flats at Sighthill are a rubble pile. This project serves not only as a documentary photography project into regeneration and the many issues it raises within today’s society, but it also serves as a unique historical record of Glasgow in transition, recorded over a space of less than two years. A specially designed website hosting the short films and photographs can be viewed at www.chrisleslie.co.uk/MA