Solas Dorcha
Eduardo Chillida, the famous Spanish sculptor, said to feel inspired by the “black light” of the Atlantic Ocean that washed the shores of his native Basque Country. He said: « We are the children of another light. A dark light, different, black, mysterious. Ours is an Atlantic culture, mythical, with a light that invites a different way of looking”.
During my last visits to the Outer Hebrides of Scotland, these words resonated in my mind. I had visited these islands many times before (“Soft Shores” project), but this time I was struck by the thick, almost solid quality of the Black Light (Solas Dorcha in Gaelic) and what that represented to me, conceptually and emotionally.
These images were made during moments of silence and introspection. They are impregnated with a certain melancholy. They show the scars of time, the effects of oblivion and the idea of standing at the edge of the known present, facing an uncertain future. But they also show the fact that, even under the darkest light, it is always possible to discern signs of beauty, renewal, and hope.
