North is a UK based photographer who uses both film and digital to capture beautiful portraits. His images seem to capture the spirit and energy of his subject. He uses mostly natural light and works closely with his subject to gain trust and build a relationship and rapport before introducing his camera. His work is mainly environmental portraits and he has worked with some amazing individuals from the sports world, musicians, motorcyclists and surfers, but his project that interests me most is that of his portraits of the women of Eigg. A remote Hebridean island of the coast of Scotland.
In 2016 North embarked on the project ‘As I Found her’ which as he states in an interview for Refinery 29 with Tom Seymour was his ‘own desire to belong somewhere, and to discover community’. In this project North photographed the women that live in this community. Making four separate trips he finally exhibited the work to coincide with the anniversary of the island community buying the island.
The project focuses on a series of individual stories but the all link with a power that seems to focus on the island. North states that his aim was to ‘to tell a much broader narrative about what it might mean to live on an island — any island — away from the mainland, and to be at the mercy of nature and perhaps even the community itself’.
Eigg has less than 100 people living three, tourism is limited and they are completely off the grid with power being generated by wind, solar and hydro – very much like Ngawi. The island and in the same way as Ngawi often gets’ cut off due to the weather, but behind both locations there are a core set of women that keep the community together. Most like in the residents of Ngawi arrive for a short period of time and never leave. You can leave your front door open and your children are safe.
Bibliography
Accessed 25/09/2020
https://www.itsnicethat.com/features/danny-north-as-i-found-her-a-portait-of-eigg-photography-020318
https://www.bjp-online.com/2019/09/openwalls-arles-2020-daily-life-on-the-remote-island-of-eigg/
Michele Usher 