Postcards From Scotland (2018)

Dounreay Nuclear Power Plant: Being decommissioned since 1998

Nineteenth Century commercial landscape photography played a significant role in the formation of Scottish national identity and in perceptions of Scotland throughout the rest of the world. George Washington Wilson and James Valentine, founded an image industry fuelled by romantic literature, new transport infrastructure and tourism that branded Scotland as a wild land with a tragic history. In 2018 I produced a series of Postcards from Scotland. These are landscape photographs made in a faux vintage style and printed as postcards. On the text side of each postcard is a brief phrase revealing some interesting or surprising fact about the location. This is a simple challenge to the legacy of nineteenth century landscape photography. The series was also prepared (by Street Level Photoworks) as a slideshow presentation with voiceovers and texts in Lithuanian and French for various screenings during 2018.

Faslane: Home to the UK's nuclear deterrent

Glencoe and cottage formerly owned by notorious sex offender Jimmy Savile

Grangemouth: Scotland's crude oil refinery

Pentland Firth: Below the surface Europe's largest tidal power plant

Turnberry Castle ruin: Birthplace of Robert Bruce, now at the edge of a Trump golf course

All images © Frank McElhinney

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