About this artwork

In 2004, Mark Neville spent a year as artist in residence in Port Glasgow, a town confronting in concentrated form the hardship of Scotland’s post-industrial decline. His stay resulted in a photographic book which he then distributed free as a gift to the community. This image featured on the front cover of the book and quickly took on an iconic status. The book, according to the Greenock Telegraph, caused a “sensation”, as locals expressed both their disgust and appreciation. It revealed, in the words of one respondent, that “we [Portonians] like a good party”. With the project, Neville sought to reignite the potential of the documentary tradition. Photography, he insists, can and should be shared.

Updated before 2020

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Mark Neville

Mark Neville