About this artwork
Between 1986 and 1988, John Charity worked on a commission funded by the local authority to photograph life in Ross and Cromarty, in the North West Highlands. In this image the men are clipping the sheep, a task that has been performed every summer for centuries. The boys are mainly observing, learning the trade, although seemingly without too much enthusiasm. As Charity remarked in 1990, the children are only interested for so long: "About lunchtime, they get fed up with the whole thing…" In recent years, Loch a’Bhraoin received some media attention as plans existed to dam the loch and pipe the water to a turbine house further down the glen. Opposition arose from various groups wanting to save the tranquil loch and its surroundings, and the planning application was eventually refused.
Updated before 2020
-
artist:John Charity (born 1946) English
-
title:During the Clipping at Loch A'Bhraoin, Wester Ross
-
date created:1988
-
materials:Gelatin silver print
-
measurements:16.80 x 25.20 cm
-
object type:
-
credit line:Purchased 1992
-
accession number:PGP 132.13
-
gallery:
-
subject:
John Charity
John Charity
John Charity was born in Nottingham in 1946 and is a self-taught photographer. From 1974 to 1981 he was a Lecturer in Documentary Photography at Gwent College in Newport, Wales. He was commissioned to photograph life in Ross and Cromarty by the local district council of the region from 1986 to 1988...