00:00 My name is Jeremy Southern-Hibbert. I'm a freelance photographer born and raised in
00:11 Glasgow. I've been a working photographer for 33 years. I've always worked on self-initiated
00:18 projects as well as doing assignments for editorial, corporate and NGO clients. And
00:24 this work behind me is a project, Artists of Scotland, which is a set of portraits of
00:30 artists in their studios all across Scotland. I started this project almost exactly one
00:36 year ago. I set myself a target of photographing 100 artists across Scotland. I thought it
00:41 would be a nice portrait project for me to work on. I had a few names that I wanted to
00:48 photograph, a few artists, household names that I wanted to photograph. You know, Alison
00:52 Watt, Ken Currie, Peter Howsay and a few others. And from that, the project really grew organically.
00:59 I asked the artists that I met and photographed, "Who do you think I should photograph?" And
01:05 it was through their recommendations and then through further research with some gallery
01:09 owners that the project grew. And now I've photographed 115 artists. This exhibition
01:17 is a selection from that portfolio. So there's 45 pictures on show here in the exhibition.
01:25 But each of the pictures, I hope, gives people a little insight into all the creative mindset
01:30 of the artists that we know and love and who produce some of the iconic art in Scotland.
01:36 Yeah, it's been a fascinating journey to go to all of these different studios, from big,
01:42 glamorous, beautiful studios with nice lighting through to people painting in their back bedroom.
01:50 And of course, comes with that, when you meet 115 people, there's 115 different characters.
01:57 Some people are really not phased by being in front of the camera. Some people are very
02:02 confident. One or two people, a little less so. Some people are a little nervous in front
02:07 of the camera. But that's my job as a photographer. And I think I have enough experience from
02:13 my 30 years of working to be able to make people feel at ease. And I think what helped
02:20 the project was, as the project grew, many of the artists knew I had already photographed
02:27 50, 60, 80 other artists. And they're quite keen to hear, "Well, what was that person's
02:33 studio like?" or "How was that person?" or "How did you find that person?" or "Who have
02:39 you photographed already?" So, for the conversation, the conversation would sometimes just really
02:46 flow. The people were as much interested in me and my career and my history as a photographer
02:50 in Scotland and this project, as I was in them and their artistic practice.
02:57 The very first artist I photographed was a lady just behind me here, Sam Ainslie, who
03:02 used to teach at Glasgow School of Art. And very nicely, I've had a Sam Ainslie print
03:08 hang on the wall of my house for 20-odd years, which I've always loved. And then a friend
03:12 said to me, "I can introduce you to Sam Ainslie." So it was a very nice beginning for the project.
03:20 And because she taught at Glasgow School of Art, she is incredibly connected. So she gave
03:26 me a big list of names and email addresses, and that really helped kickstart the project.
03:32 And mentioning that I knew her and I had photographed with her was a great way to open the studio
03:38 doors.
03:39 The project will still continue. Even though this exhibition is on for two months, there
03:45 are still people I would like to photograph. And I'm still trying to contact them and still
03:51 got a few in the diary. So I think the project will run for a while yet.
03:55 Yeah, this is the first public showing of the work. Yeah, absolutely. I would love it
04:00 to travel. I would love the show to travel. I think it's a great showcase for creativity
04:04 in Scotland. So I think there's potential for the exhibition to be shown elsewhere in
04:09 Scotland and to let people see inside the art spaces, which to some of these artists,
04:14 their studios are quite private spaces. So I think there's great fascination from people
04:20 to see the pictures. I think the exhibition could travel, even internationally. I think
04:25 it could travel. Again, it's a great showcase for the country, for Scotland.
04:30 My grand aim for the project is to have a portfolio box of the 150 prints and for that
04:37 to be acquired by an art collection or an art institution. So that 50 years from now,
04:45 100 years from now, people can open that box, they'll see all these people, all well documented
04:52 Scottish artists, and the portfolio will exist as a snapshot, as a real time capsule record
05:01 of their Scottish art scene in 2023-2024.
05:06 This exhibition, Artists of Scotland, is on at the Stalin Brand Architecture and Design
05:11 Gallery here at 18 Nicholson Street in Glasgow. It opens on the 6th of November and it runs
05:17 for almost two months until the 21st of December.
05:21 [Music]
05:25 (upbeat music)
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