Portraits at Second Hand

During the period October 09 to December 09 photographer Calum Clezy spent time observing and recording moments in and parts of the Voltaire and Rousseau second-hand bookshop in Glasgow. He also photographed The Old Pier Book Shop in Morecombe and Bookcase in Carlisle.

Volatire and Rousseau, in particular, is a grand old lady of Glasgow culture. A favourite of students and academics, as well as Glasgow’s mildly Bohemian West End, it also has a favourite place in the heart of many other inhabitants of the city. In producing this book, Calum thoroughly eased himself into the life of the shop – spending time among customers, with the owner, and among the bookshelves when the shop was quiet.

Here, Calum isn’t interested in the content of the books. His interest rather lies in the lines, the shape, the promise of the contents – and the images of the authors on the covers, or, occasionally, around the bookshops themselves.

Calum manages to have one of these author “portraits” in many of the pictures – a representation of a human face in the sea of pages of human thoughts. The faces represent not only the author of the work, but also the potential protagonist of the story, even as they reflect back of the reader’s – or the book-shopper’s - gaze

In terms of structure of the photographs, the book celebrates lines. The lines of the shelves, the lines of the spines, the simplicity of images on white space. Occasionally, there is contrast - images of scattered books, spines splayed, covers visible. In a context where the spine is the well-dressed form, these proliferations of colour and design stand out and enhance our understanding of the linearity of the rest of the images.

There is a lack of hierarchy in a second-hand bookshop, an organised randomness which contributes to its appeal – the possibility of much search and discovery. In Portraits at Second Hand, Calum Clezy both records and celebrates the visual experience available in such a setting.

At once endearing and human, and a steadily held musing on objects, Portraits at Second Hand brings a clear artist’s eye to a familiar cultural institution.

Jennifer Doherty
Smokehouse Gallery
7/12/09

Johnstone Stud Farm

Nineteen Fifties Family Album

INTRODUCTION

While looking for something in a cupboard in his grandfather's house, photographer Calum Clezy came across a hidden trove of family images. Carefully pasted into a government-issue notebook from his grandfather's National Service in the 1950s, was a close-to-complete collection of informal family pictures. The images span the period from before his grandparent's marriage, to the early years of the young couple's life together, including their early family life. The collection ends with childhood images of Calum's own father and uncle.

The photographs had not been an often-looked-at part of the family's narrative about themselves, and so had a freshness for everyone who looked at them.
To the outside reader, the images present as fresh and touching. Like any collection of family pictures, they pose as many questions as they offer stories, or provide answers. The images themselves are strong, clear, well-composed, and often without formal posing from the participants. Geographically, the images were made in small villages, towns and farms in the East Neuk of Fife, and in Lanarkshire. These locations, mostly, are unfamiliar to viewers, and the fact that they are not a traditional part of Scotland's landscape narrative adds to the originality of the collection.

The story can be read on many levels - the history of the young couple, the setting of the times, the changes across time and place, the wondering about the subjects’ interior lives... In his presentation of these photographs, Calum Clezy wisely leaves the interpretation to the viewer.

I wish all readers the pleasure of their journey with these fascinating images.

Jennifer T. Doherty
The Smokehouse Gallery, Eyemouth, Scotland
February 2009