Gina Fierlafijn Reddie @giraf87: Down the Wire (2019)

‘Down to the Wire’ is a film about the sensory experiencing of an everyday landscape. The assemblage of photography, mixed media paintings and music evokes urban encounters, reiterated, and representing the multiplicities of a walk.

Granton Gasworks is a well-known local landmark and even a navigator for ships in the Firth of Forth. Lesser known is the Madelvic Motorworks factory, now in a derelict condition, hidden, and its fascinating story of producing electric cars in 1898 is almost forgotten. Both structures are on the ‘at risk register’ of Buildings in Scotland, and on the ‘Listed’ buildings of the national register.

Gina Fierlafijn Reddie produced this intimate visual experience incorporating the use of metal wire and nails to remind the viewer of the rich industrial heritage of these sites. The fragility of the artefacts symbolises the fragility of the buildings. The wires remind us how industry had a grip on these urban sites, holding it in place [at first enveloping] but now also delicately securing their presence and memories, before potential collapse. The music creates an atmosphere of emergency, with the crescendo of subtle tones, rising into a tempo of despair and urgency.

There is no time to waste and developers and planners must, after years of uncertainty, come up with proposals for both buildings that will suit the expanding Granton community.

The paintings featuring in the video are displayed below. They are based on a collaboration with artist Ian Reddie.