Scalpay: Last of the Fishermen
Photographs by Johan Hallberg-Campbell
Curated by Donald Weber
Johan Hallberg-Campbell has an intuitive empathy for the subjects of his documentary portraiture. In this his latest work, part stills part video, Johan travels home to Scotland and through his own feelings and knowledge explores the persistence of memory and the viability of collective mythology. The population of the Western Isles is diminishing year on year as more and more young people leave their island’s heritage.
The future is absent here, the past lingers in the frozen hands of the fishermen; trades and skills no longer passed down generation to generation. Johan shows us what is left the present; ruddy, calloused, worked hard alive. He describes the life on the water and on the island, the waiting and the erosion of this culture. This is a powerful ensemble of images beautifully accompanied by the Gaelic narration of Ruth Morrison.
at the Pikto Gallery 55 Mill St, The Distillery District, Toronto.
From March 23rd – April 29th 2010
http://www.vimeo.com/9300959
http://www.johanhallbergcampbell.com
