Event: Building a Legacy - The Athletes' Village, visual art, The Lighthouse, Glasgow
Review by Caroline Gauley, 23: Two stars.
After the limelight, bustle and attention of the Commonwealth Games, the city would be forgiven for feeling somewhat deflated in the aftermath. Instead however, exhibitions have been installed in the Lighthouse on Mitchell Lane, to celebrate what will be a lasting legacy for Glasgow.
Gallery 2 of the building houses the Athletes' Village exhibition which showcases the intricacies of the rejuvenated area of the East End. With 700 sustainable eco homes and a care home which has 120 beds, the Athletes Village is certainly a triumph for the city and the exhibition takes visitors through the painstaking process.
You are immediately greeted by a cutaway model of one of the houses in the village, which highlights the energy efficiency of the homes. A nearby television screen shows Councillor Gordon Matheson talking about the success and promise of the area, while cutting to shots of the construction process.
While sustainable housing is no doubt an important and interesting topic, as an exhibition it simply requires the visitor to read endless amounts of text from brightly coloured boards. You get the feeling of being in a geography text book that you cannot find the way out of, the stuff of Highers student's nightmares.
There is however, an insightful installation called 'Sightlines' in the midst of the Athlete Village documentation. This is a 16 minute film settled in a bare wooden cube at the back of the gallery. Visitors can amble into the secluded area and watch the film which has been inspired by aerial photography of Commonwealth countries. We hear about colonialism, the strife of locals and get a glimpse at the poverty of many places under the umbrella of the Commonwealth. This element of the Legacy installation adds a much needed human, emotive element to an otherwise cold exhibition.
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