MAP WILL LET PEOPLE SEE CITY WITH NEW EYES
WHEN Thomas Sulman made his Bird’s Eye View map of Glasgow 1864, there were no City Chambers in George Square, no School of Art, and the river was full of sailboats and steamships.
Fast forward 158 years, to a Glasgow which looks very different – and another artist is preparing to make a map of the city. This time, however, Will Knight will use drones to capture the views, rather than a hot air balloon…
“Sulman’s drawing is of a city in time,” says the Glasgow-based artist.
“I’m excited to produce a work to encourage and enable people to see the city of today afresh.”
Will has been commissioned by Glasgow City Heritage Trust, as part of its successful Gallus Glasgow project, to produce a contemporary, detailed, illustrated “bird’s eye view of Glasgow” looking north from the south side of the Clyde, bringing Sulman’s work up to date and showing how Glasgow has developed and changed over the last 150 years.
Many of the buildings on the original map no longer exist, while some, like the Necropolis, have barely changed at all.
Gallus Glasgow, which included bespoke animation and an interactive website, used Sulman’s map as a catalyst for exploring the Victorian city as it became “the Second City of the Empire”.
Rachel Kacir, Heritage Manager at GCHT, explains: “Glasgow has shifted its economy and reputation from a city historically dominated by heavy industries to one renowned for the vitality of its creative industries – last year, Glasgow was listed as the top cultural and creative centre in the UK in a report by the European Commission.”
She adds: “If the heavy industry of 1864 was depicted by smoking chimneys and cargo- laden ships on the Clyde, how should the present day creative city be represented?
“What buildings and places define Glasgow in 2022? We’re really excited to be creating this map, following in Sulman’s footsteps, and leaving behind our own impression of Glasgow in 2022 for people to explore in another 150 years’ time.”
Will, who studied architecture at Glasgow School of Art, said Sulman’s map “hums with life”.
He adds: “The buildings and streets between them are recognisable not just by their form, but by the life that animates them.
“Horses, pedestrians and boats on the Clyde show the city as a place of movement and congregation, and change – depicted by the numbers of gap sites in construction.
“Likewise, the cranes and smoking chimney stacks and stockyards show a city of trade and industry, growing and groaning with Victorian life.
Will hopes his new map will encourage people to see Glasgow with new eyes, “with its changing skyline, busy motorways and bridges, and pedestrian thoroughfares.”
Rachel adds: “Will’s application showed his deep understanding of the nature of the original map, and a really clear sense of how his own style reflects Sulman’s work.
“We absolutely love his rigorous approach to capturing Glasgow’s places in careful detail and can’t wait to see how this will translate to a whole cityscape.”
Beautiful high-quality prints of the original 1864 map are available to buy on the Trust’s website (gallusglasgow. glasgowheritage.org.uk)