It was all the way back in June that we held the first Shutter Hub OPEN exhibition, which featured Kenneth Gray's intriguing image entitled Grange Cemetery, Edinburgh. Now we are delighted to report that his work has been selected to be part of the The Royal Scottish Academy Open exhibition in Edinburgh.

The two pieces he is showing (above) are entitled Empty Shop I and Empty Shop II. They have been selected through a process of open submissions for this exhibition, which has been a part of the RSA annual exhibition for over 180 years! Kenneth Gray says of the works:

The Empty Shop series came about more by chance than planning. I started to see shops which had lain empty for some time, stripped of fittings and ready for let or sale. And once I started to notice them, I saw more and more. I'm fascinated by these spaces which are neither one thing nor another – they inhabit a temporary space between states. I have noticed there is often a door or doorway leading into another space in the photographs, which could suggest either the past or the future for the shop.

The vast majority of photographs were taken in Edinburgh. Empty Shop I for instance is on George Street, Edinburgh. However, Empty Shop II is a well-known shop in Peebles, the Scottish Borders – the listed building Veitch's, which has lain empty for over five years. Plans are in place for its renovation, but in the meantime it lies empty. An unused space. Bare, its layers stripped back for all to see. These are spaces which are currently devoid of meaning, so we can project our thoughts on to them.

The RSA Open exhibition is held at the Royal Scottish Academy, the Mound, Edinburgh and runs from 29 Nov 14 – 20 Jan 15. You can find out more here.