I think it was October – 1999. For some reason that really needs it’s own blog post I was in a mafia flat in Moscow. The man who lived there kept a number of women – against their will – and forced them into sex work on Leningradsky Prospekt. It was a really awful experience being there.

He offered me the opportunity to see and hold a hand gun – which I politely declined. This caused him to laugh and nod in acknowledgement that as a Glaswegian I’d probably prefer a knife.

It really shook me up that this guy understood our very unhealthy relationship with bladed weapons in Glasgow. This incident, combined with my own personal experiences with violence in Glasgow, cemented my initial resolve to make a photographic project about knife crime.

The stills project evolved over the years and became a body of work which I’m very proud – and ashamed – of. The images confirmed the headlines of the time which defined Glasgow as being the murder capital of Europe.

Over a decade on I approached the BBC to find out if they would support me in going back to re-visit the same story to make a film which asks if anything has improved since I made the photographs. They said yes, and “knife crime – winning the war” will be shown on BBC 1 Scotland on Monday 9th December 2013 at 10.35pm.

Here’s a link to the BBC  web page.

Here’s the trailer for the film and I’ve attached a small gallery of thumbnails below: –

Please spread the word and try and catch it yourself if you can!

The original stills project is here.

Cheers