The City in The Age of The Beholder

Amina Joseph

Buildings, traffic, people are words associated with the city but also responsibility, precaution, and self-awareness. In the busiest street in Glasgow, hundreds of people walking up and down the street to multiple destinations I was able to capture three photos displaying the different perspective, experience and array of emotion presented in the streets that are naturally evoked with the surrounding context between different ages groups. 

On the first image, are the composite columns at the gallery of modern art that architecturally portray power and governance but for a kid they are wide enough for a hide and seek. On the second image the photo highlights how the architecture details of the Buchanan subway station are used as a recreation space by the kids which in turn brings joy the parent and the final image is a depiction of the satisfaction of the little things such as the balloons by the kids form the street vendor across the Vodacom shop.  

Hence, the unseen and seen in the city streets is the world of a kid to an adult and vice versa, If you walk around the city centre and carefully observe the use of space within the different age groups you will start noticing a different perspective to the space. For a kid the pavement became a dance floor pattern, the level changes are slides, the columns are a hide and seek ground and the balloon vendor is a destination. What may seem architecturally or monetary necessary and obvious for adults is the living fairy tale for the kids.