Lockdown exhibition showcases artist’s individual perspective

An 18-year-old artist has said his autism allows him a “different perspective” as he showcased his coronavirus lockdown photographs in the back garden of a Glasgow tenement.

Dylan Lombard teamed up with fellow photographer Brian Hartley for the exhibition at Number 61 Glencairn Drive in the city’s Pollokshields area.

He took his photos in black and white and only during the day throughout the first Covid-19 lockdown in 2020.

Mr Hartley’s work is in colour and was also shot during the pandemic.

Neither photographer had met before the idea of curating an exhibition of their work was put to them.

Their photos are displayed on the back garden walls of the tenement and hanging from a clothes line.

Mr Lombard was diagnosed as deaf aged three, is autistic and has MDP, an extremely rare condition.

He said: “Looking back, I can now see that starting high school was an incredibly stressful time for me. I now see that I started taking photographs as a way to take my mind off school – a coping mechanism.

“I realised very quickly that I see the world with a different perspective because of my autism. I can represent this different way of seeing in my photographs.

“Photography has changed me and helped me to become more positive about myself and about life.”

He added: “A lot of my images are mostly in black and white and mostly feature one person in them representing isolation.

“During lockdown, a lot of people felt lonely and I tried to show that in my photographs.”

The artists said they decided to hold the exhibition in a tenement garden to reflect the willingness for people to come together during the pandemic.

Mr Hartley said he discovered new parts of Glasgow during the lockdown.

He added: “It’s been great to see the work in print and it looks good seeing it in the garden, the photos hanging from clothes pegs on the washing line, on the railings and under the trees, the garden becomes part of the story of the exhibition.

“It becomes a space filled with history and stories, which it adds to the stories captured in the photographs.”

The exhibition runs on Saturday and Sunday from 2pm-4pm in Glencairn Drive, Glasgow, with entry via the back lane off Shields Road.