CRITIC’S CHOICE

For the last three months, visitors have been pouring in to Street Level Photoworks gallery in Glasgow to view the first major exhibition of Oscar Marzaroli’s photographs in his home city in over thirty years.

Marzaroli, who died in 1988 at the age of just 55, left behind a vast body of work; much of which had never been seen in public before. Last year, more than 50,000 photographs taken by the Italian-born photographer were donated to Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) and Street Level has worked with his family and GCU; scanning original negatives to bring the work to a broader audience.

Some of Marzaroli’s photographs must count as being among the most famous images of Glasgow ever created. Photographs such as The Castlemilk

Lads and The Golden Haired Lass, taken in the early 1960s, have achieved an almost mythical status but this exhibition, which has been extended to due to popular demand, offers a glimpse into the depth and range of his work.

This exhibition features over 80 photographs – many of which have never been seen before – as well as his cameras and contact sheets. An extensive range of subject matter is embraced through Marzaroli’s noticing gaze. It’s a privilege to zero in on portraits and landscapes the length and breadth of Scotland during a time of seismic changes in society when city slums were being cleared to make way for new social housing and the old ways in Scotland’s rural parts were fast disappearing. He also documented the cultural life of Scotland, photographing major figures such as Hugh MacDiarmid, Alasdair Gray, George Mackay Brown, Sorley Maclean and Joan Eardley. Alongside the great and the good, there are portraits of remarkable people known in their own communities. A must-see!

Oscar Marzaroli, Street Level Photoworks, Street Level Photoworks, Trongate 103, Glasgow G1 5HD, 0141 552 2151, www. streetlevelphotoworks.org, open Tue to Sat, 10am–5pm, Sunday,12pm–5pm, December 7, 2019 – April 5, 2020. Free