Getty Museum

Fishing Gear, South Uist, Scotland

Date

1954

Medium

Gelatin silver print

Culture

American

Department

Photographs

Institution

Getty Museum

South Uist had a small population of local fishermen, whose livelihood was increasingly under threat from the large trawlers that came from mainland Scotland and England to fish for herring and lobster in the waters surrounding the Hebrides. In Paul Strand’s 1962 book _Tlr a'Mhurain_, Basil Davidson’s (1914-2010) writings provide a historical overview of the situation while presenting a detailed account of the impact on the local community. Strand's photographs also touch on the subject indirectly. In this image Strand looks down from his vantage point and captures the seemingly disparate elements of fishing gear, scattered across the deck of a boat in an abstract composition of shapes and textures. At the center is a pair of discarded rubber boots. Above them, a coiled rope creates a void that is countered by the volume of the buoy next to it. The picture can be read as a metaphor: the empty boots waiting to be filled are symbolic of the need to continue with traditions across generations in order to ensure the survival of the culture. The whole arrangement questions the presence (or absence) of the future generation, who will literally fill these boots and sustain the community. See also: ([84.XP.208.51](https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/object/106FQ8), [86.XM.683.45](https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/object/106NS8), [86.XM.683.39](https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/object/106NS4)). Originally published in _Paul Strand_, In Focus: Photographs from the J. Paul Getty Museum by Anne M. Lyden (Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum, 2005), 94. ©2005, J. Paul Getty Trust.

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