Close No. 28 Saltmarket 1868

Thomas Annan’s photograph, "Close No. 28 Saltmarket," captures a scene of everyday life in Glasgow. But consider the ‘close’ itself—a narrow passage, both physically and metaphorically, a space of confinement and transition. The image is dominated by sharp vertical lines that create a sense of being hemmed in. In its simplest interpretation, we can see it as a reflection of the difficult circumstances of these people. However, such a narrow passage also appears in classical art as a ‘passage to the underworld’ motif. The window, high above, offers a glimpse of the outside world, but it is the flight of stairs that repeats throughout art history as a symbol of transition or ascension, a motif that evokes a range of psychological responses. It is here a conduit between the dark close and the possibility of light above. Annan's photograph, like the symbols it unwittingly captures, reveals how deeply embedded these primal images are within our collective consciousness. These visual motifs continue to resurface, evolving and taking on new meanings while remaining connected to the past.