Mac-tallaichean

Today I had a bit of an epiphany whilst shooting the old remains of Na Cùileagan (translated to "the nooks") in Gleann Charrann (Glen of the Rocky River). It was pretty dreich out, which suited the subject matter - the remains of a township cleared in the mid 19th century. I decided on a name for the “Big Project”, which is going to be a body of work… Mac-Tallaichean… it simply means “Echoes”. The body of work under this title is going to be split into a number of series’ - each focused on a single Glen - and exploring the indellible marks of humanity on that landscape, and those who are gone and lost to time.

Having a name for a thing is important… and I am going to explore the names of the places I visit, the history of those places and eventually produce a series of one off prints relating to each Glen, each series will probably comprise of around 5 pieces, which will be hand printed and selinium toned on baryta fibre papers - which will be archivally mounted and framed. I want to convey the beauty of the locations juxtaposed with that feeling of what was lost through the cultural eradication of Highland culture.

This is going to take quite some time!

However, I am on the road to starting now. I have pretty much decided on my approach in terms of film stocks, cameras, paper and printing techniques that will be employed. I have a name and a purpose. Now I just need to start putting together the research into the scenes I want to explore! I think I will start off fairly locally with Glen Moriston which has a very different historical context to Strathcarron but there is a lot of recorded history and stories relating to the area which will feed into what I am going to do!

12th October 2026