We had an enchanted evening wandering around the east end & Merchant City last night taking in the Radiance festival of light. Unusually for this time of year it was clear night and some of the installations looked magnificent. The cathedral(above) had an evocative coating of light adding another layer to its creepiness and at times resembling a blue ringed octopus or and particularly dedicated supporter of the Brisbane Lions covered in tattoos.
My personal favourite was a small doorway with images of fireflies protected onto the glazing accompanied by distant shortwave radio transmissions and voices from another room – it was particularly evocative. The most interesting aspect of the evening was discovering small lanes and courtyards in the east end that we didn’t know existed, combined with the energy generated by thousands of people milling about streets that would normally be deserted – there was a real sense of Glaswegians realising how interesting their city could be with more a more animated and activated street life.
