Stories of Addiction and Recovery from Glasgow.

Return O Backsliding Children.

Greater Glasgow.
Photographs & text by Sofia Conti.

Glasgow and even Scotland as a whole is renowned for its tough image. We are somewhat used to the caricatured portrayals, men in kilts playing their bag pipes in sub-zero conditions, angry drunks on television and the Loch Ness monster. It also has wild mountain ranges, a thriving diverse society and a plethora of beautiful islands, successful businesses, and a wide cultural heritage. It’s a nice place, although hard drinking, crime and unemployment are also real factors across the nation. The success of the film Train Spotting reinforced some of this, but also rendered a softer side to the people, a natural tenderness born out of the harsh realities. Greater Glasgow is home to around 600,000 people and in 2011 researchers at the Centre on the Dynamics of Ethnicity, co-hosted by the universities of Glasgow and Manchester, analysed recent censuses in Scotland and found that one in six Scottish households, which contain two or more people, is now multi-ethnic. Although Glasgow has a high job density, at what seems a staggering 450,000 according O.N.S. certain areas still have problems. Nearly a decade ago, Scots born documentary photographer Sofia Conti found herself on the move and looking for a new home. We caught up with her recently to get an insight to her approach and vision for her seminal work from Glasgow. Sofia has explored and recorded in a sensitive way, the lives of a group of people who have been affected by a broad spectrum of life’s modern maladies, principally crime, unemployment and addiction. In some cases, she is able to witness salvation through group help and self empowerment. Sofia has played a role in these lives and works with her camera, video equipment and community based exhibitions to give a voice to the pain and suffering. This page displays Sofia’s documentary photographs and words about the project, allowing her to reinforce the narrative for those who have yet to see the multi-media-based project.
- The editor.

“My fiancé and I purchased a home in Glasgow’s East End eight years ago as she grew up there. So that decision was easy. As a non-native I noticed significant differences in the environment around me such as anti-social behaviour, addiction, a lack of career prospects, limited housing, and poverty. Throughout Glasgow I witnessed areas continually being neglected and forgotten. It troubled me to see this. Here I had found a welcoming community that continued to be stigmatised by the exhausted terminology once used by the Scottish Government back in 2010 - ‘The Glasgow Effect’. Collaboration has always been paramount while developing my methodology and practice within the Master of Arts (MA). I found when conducting collaborator discussions that crime was the major concern as it had either indirectly and/or directly spilled into participants lives. It was evident that an in-depth investigation was required using the themes of people, place, crime, trauma, ethics/representation, identity, social class, and memory to help vocalise the collaborators stories.

Photos from top:
Shaws Loyal: Stemming from a broken home as a child led to Stephen committing petty crimes as a method of survival

High-rise corridor: D was falsely accused of an assault.

Pigeons: The passing of Walter’s mother and a breakdown in parental care led to him being placed in the system where he was abused. At eleven years old he ran away and found himself sleeping under a canal bridge as this place was his safe haven. Over the years Walter got involved with criminal activity which resulted in prison time. To coincide with this, he used various substances to supress all traumatic events that began at such an early age. The turning point for Walter was when he was so intoxicated at his daughter’s wedding, he realised something had to change. Fourteen years on Walter lives a sub-stance free life and works for GEAAP (Glasgow East Alcohol Awareness Project) where he aids the East End community who suffer at the hands of addiction.

I decided that a multimedia–based–project would be the best way to proceed, and this would be dispensed within a free community exhibition. The venue would act as a safe space for the collaborators/community, who were the primary audience along with the other invited guests, all would be able to consider the layered interactive Final Major Project (FMP). The ultimate goal was to make viewers question what they experienced; this might spark conversations surrounding crime within Greater Glasgow.
Greater Glasgow has historic connections to crime and between 2020-2021 the city had the second highest crime rate of 682 per 10,000 population (Scottish Government 2021). My background is working-class, yet the divide between Glasgow and my previous residence (Edinburgh/Fife) was extremely noticeable. Research suggested the East End is negatively viewed for its impoverished and criminal past. Being a non-native, female, from a mixed background I believed I could find a new way of seeing the area and its people and work towards a new vision of the community beyond the negative typecast.

Photos above:
Witnessing gang violence throughout DC’s childhood led to him fighting

A loving family unit did not stop John from misbehaving which placed him in and out of children’s homes. By the time he was 15 years old John started using heroin and that was the real start of adult prison life

The murder of M’s brother propelled her addiction and the need to commit criminal acts was the only way source the illegal substances.

Photo below:
Five years ago, Donna was in a secure relationship, a mother to a beautiful baby boy and in her final year of university. This all changed when Donna was pre-scribed medication for a work-related injury and in turn being sharply cut off resulted in her purchasing illegal prescriptions. Spending hundreds of pounds every week Donna had to turn to shoplifting to fund her addiction. Currently in recovery Donna volunteers at the South Community Recovery Network and activity campaigns to raise awareness on prescribed medication addiction.

Forming strong bonds with residents, charitable organisations, and community groups gave me the opportunity to create ‘Return, O Backsliding Children’ in 2022. With the key themes discussed earlier, making a collaborative, multi-media-based project where participants could share their experiences of crime and other associated issues that for some caused what Babette Rothschild refers to in her book, The Body Remembers The Psychophysiology of Trauma and Trauma Treatment, “Behavioural Flashbacks”. Hosting a community exhibition would be the perfect opportunity to stir intrigue for viewers to question, why is crime so concentrated in Greater Glasgow and what is the cause and effect from that exposure? As a non-native it has constantly played on my mind which methods to use when ethically representing the community, for me the ethical representation was of paramount importance. I realised and, in a way, discovered that not originating from Glasgow I had the advantage of a fresh perspective.
When Jonathan Torgovnik, cited in Borge 2019 stated, “Documentary is evidence, truth and responsibility”, it clarified what I needed to do. A perfect example is celebrated French photographer Raymond Depardon’s depiction of 1980’s ‘Glasgow’ as he immersed himself within the welcoming community, he empathetically photographed the never-before-seen Glasgow e.g., poverty. Collaboration would be vital throughout the project to aid my considerations when encapsulating the essence of the community. As all documentary photographers and committed journalists know, the relationships that form during the work are as vital a part of the process as the finished visual work delivered for presentation. Also, my previous non-commissioned projects helped build strong ties within Glasgow which contributed to the FMP’s production.

Crime being the main theme I was aware of its sensitive nature, so carefully navigating discussions over time with collaborators was required so they can express their experiences with ease. In these sessions I explained the main direction of the project would come from issues the participants raised and believed were important to note e.g., addiction. My subjectivity would be present being a current resident and photographer to assist when forming the visual narrative on multiple layers to draw more intrigue. Continuous talks clarified what would be divulged in the public realm to ensure the collaborators protection. In a similar way to that of Rehab Eldalil’s ‘Traces of What Remains’ (2020), where she respectfully obscured participants faces to give them anonymity due to repercussions from the Egyptian Revolution. This method enabled participants to be part of the FMP to vocalise issues for the audience to better understand. ‘Our Faces, Our Spaces: Photography, Community and Representation’ (2013) discusses the youths experiences of the Mount Pleasant Photography Workshop, Southampton (1977-1992). The workshop highlighted issues surrounding that time, as David Roath indicated, “I think photographs tell a story and, in this case, it was our story.” My goal for using various mediums e.g., Moving Portrait (MP) is to give collaborators the power to educate viewers from an insider’s perspective. Hosting a free community exhibition acted as a safe environment for the collaborators to vocalise their experiences, the com-munity to see themselves and for outside viewers e.g., local politicians to stand up and pay attention (primary/secondary audience). This was to ultimately encourage the audience to consider the strong body of work to spark conversations on what changes are required, to alter the stigmatized view imposed on the good people of Greater Glasgow and beyond who have been touched by crime”.

Photo above:
Immigrating from Democratic Republic of the Congo to a Glasgow housing estate as a youth exposed Rudy to gang culture. It did not take Rudy long to realise the implication when being associated with the local gang. Having an interest in street dancing Rudy began to attend his local community centre to learn more. As he got older, he still had connections to the gangs, however he turned to education for a better way of life. As a dance instructor Rudy works with schools and community groups across Glasgow by promoting a positive alternative to gang culture.

Photos below from left;
M’s family home who still continue their sense of faith.

JD was wrongfully accused of stealing Princess Diana’s mother’s jewels twenty years ago. The ongoing battle has resulted in the breakdown of his relationship, the suicide of his daughter who suffered at the hands of addiction and the deterioration of his mental health. JD remains defiant and continues to fight for justice.

The area where John grew up. John still lives within the community and currently works with others who have suffered at the hands of addiction.

Photos below:
High-rise fire in the heart of the community that Donna resides.

As a youth Rudy would hang around the areas scheme’s with other members of the local gang.

Thanks for reading.