During the early stages of lockdown last year, I was asked by the artist David Cass if I would like to contribute to a project he was curating called The Sea From Here. Some of you may know David from his exhibition at Taigh Chearsabhagh (if not I would recommend finding and following him on your social media). After reading through the brief it was clear to me that an image I had for some time intended to make would fit perfectly with what David was describing. All I had to do was wait for the the light, the weather, the tide, and my availability to coincide perfectly so that I could take the photograph (no easy task on South Uist) and it wasn't until December that these particular stars aligned. Nonetheless, the image that I had settled on in May was exactly what I photographed in December.
The photograph is of Eilean Dubh - I see this tiny Island every single day, and in all weather conditions. I have watched Oystercatchers and Greylag Geese nest on successive years; Herons, Gulls, Mergansers and Otters hunt in the rocks below the tideline while Hen Harrier, Merlin, Kestrel, Peregrine and Eagles are all seen above it. Occasionally the local sheep will find their way to the isle at low tide.
During lockdown, watching the activity on this island is one of the things that informed me that life outside of lockdown was continuing as normal. The very embodiment of my favourite quote of last year from David Hockney 'Do remember they can't cancel the spring' which a year later is just as pertinent.
Further to the engaging content on the main site there are Extra Insights where David shares some of the words that contributors supplied alongside their images – specifically those which are related to climate change - this includes my image from Loch Boisdale. South Uist is low lying on it's western side and is recognised as vulnerable to rising sea levels, something that the residents are all too aware of.
Do take the time to view The Sea From Here - and this is just part one - more content is to follow in part two.
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