Gerrard is a Scottish born documentary photographer. Her main focus is social and environmental issues. Her projects address individuals, their stories along with aspects of isolation, mental health, human rights, dignity and above all hope.
I was particularly drawn to her work on the island of Orkney situated off the coast of Scotland, this location is very much like Ngawi, remote communities working together to make a living from the land or sea, money from tourists during the summer months and making do. Fixing what’s broken as it can be sometime before a replacement is obtained.
Orkney, well Scotland in general was one of those places I was always meaning to go to when I lived in the UK but never got round to, but through Gerrard’s images, although staged there is a similar feeling to that of Ngawi. The community coping with the isolation, the weather.
She uses a combination of portraits and environmental studies to tell the narrative, but for me there seems to be a more there then she is telling, more questions than answers. The muted colours add to the mood of the location, the rolls of seaweed remind me of my photoshoot with Sue (see here), as way to supplement her pension. Like other Gerrard uses that direct, dead-pan gaze in her portraits, giving a barrier between subject and viewer.
Bibliography
Accessed 26/10/2020
British Journal of Photography: https://www.bjp-online.com/tag/sophie-gerrard/
Article: http://www.documentscotland.com/tag/sophie-gerrard/
Michele Usher 