Dimmick’s street photography employs several approaches associated with the genre. The wispy flora and shadowed gable end in Corunna Street, Finnieston (1997) brings to mind Eugène Atget’s enigmatic pictures of old Paris. Byres Road at Ruthven Lane (1984) is a street-level image that presents Glasgow’s amorphous human presence, here Dimmick is testing the borders of our visual and mental awareness. The aerial shot titled Partick Cross (1984) observes the city in yet another register. This curious composition featuring a blurred tree at its centre invites us to peer past the foliage and dwell on material features of the city: its asphalt and cobbled road surface dotted with cat’s eyes, the tangle of railings, the cars, food trailer and caravan, the cigarette advert and dark store fronts. With no central focus our gaze wanders over the scene in all directions. Tiny figures accentuate the somewhat desolate atmosphere.

Two photographs dating from the same year: Partick Cross (1979) and M8 Motorway, Charing Cross (1979) splendidly contrast ‘times gone by’ with what was once presumably a ‘brave new future’. In the first image the frame is almost completely dominated by a crumbling building façade and dilapidated commercial signage. The second features a dynamic view of the M8 underpass with its fluid markings, lariat guard rail, towering lighting poles and distant high-rises puncturing a vast sky. A counterpoint to cityscapes devoid of human presence is an affectingly intimate shot of Alasdair and Betsy Gray larking about outside her jewellery shop in Dowanside Lane, 1985. This introduces yet another mode of picture-making: Dimmick seems perpetually ready to take advantage of candid moments but often there’s much more to it than simply a serendipitous capture. In this case it’s the trompe l’oeil door ajar with a cat peeping out that affords a shade of magic.

In short, BUILDHOLLYWOOD is proud to support this remarkable archive celebrating Glasgow’s people and places, its fleeting moments and shifting moods. Viewing photographs from decades past on the streets today we’re reminded not just how attuned Dimmick is to both patiently composed and split-second picture making opportunities but also the vicissitudes of time passing. No single image can possibly convey everything there is to know about a city and its inhabitants but this public exhibition of select pictures – a fraction of Dimmick’s stunning body of work – succeeds in giving us a fabulous insight into Scotland’s largest city and its extraordinarily diverse populace.