Documenting Britain
The M8 is Scotland’s busiest motorway and one of the busiest in the UK, running between the cities of Glasgow and Edinburgh. Thousands of people commute between the cities every day. Since the motorway’s completion in 1980 many of these towns have been in decline, with the disappearance of local industries like coal mining and traffic almost completely bypassing the towns via the main motorway. I used to travel between the two cities without leaving the motorway, the towns in-between appearing to be little more than indistinct shapes: glimpsed for the briefest of seconds. Houses and people caught in the corner of the eye. Junctions isolated; roads curving off into nothing. Flyovers, exits, place names – amongst them I came across the words “The heart of Scotland” printed on a motorway services sign. I am documenting this place and the small, seemingly forgotten towns which surround it.
The M8
The M8 is Scotland’s busiest motorway and one of the busiest in the UK, running between the cities of Glasgow and Edinburgh. Thousands of people commute between the cities every day. Just after the announcement of a referendum on Scottish independence in, I have been exploring and making work on the small towns that line this route. After the motorway’s completion in 1980 many of the local industries such as coal mining disappeared and most of the traffic now seems to pass these towns by. I used to follow them, travelling mostly at night, between the two major cities without leaving the motorway, the towns in-between appearing to be little more than indistinct shapes: glimpsed for the briefest of seconds then gone again. Houses and people reduced to a blur, barely visible out of the corner of the eye. Junctions isolated in a haze; roads curving of into nothing. Place names flashing under headlights – amongst them the words “The heart of Scotland” appear, before melting into grey. Taking this exit I find little more than motorway services, but now the idea had been planted and I had to explore.
