On The Bookshelf

Chris Rodmell Inis Meáin 1973-2023

Reviewed by Nick Hodgson FRPS

All Images ©Chris Rodmell

Inis Meáin 1973-2023 by Chris Rodmell is published and distributed with support from RRB Books, 2023.

£55 from rrbphotobooks.com/products/chris-rodmell-inis-meain-1973-2023

Reading the foreword to Inis Meáin 1973-2023, I immediately had to reach for a map to see where exactly the Aran Islands are located (with apologies to our Irish readers), as understanding physical context and location is an essential starting point from which to properly look at, and engage with, a body of work. Protecting the mouth of Galway Bay on the west coast of Ireland, these three islands face the worst of the weather that the Atlantic spews onto the land, with Inis Meáin being the most exposed of the three islands to the elements and with it historically the least easy to access. Although located only a few miles from the mainland, it is this weather-related remoteness and isolation which gives the island its unique character. Gaelic remains the predominant language, and all the accompanying text in the book is both in Gaelic and English.

As the title suggests, this body of work started just over fifty years ago in 1973, when photographer Chris Rodmell was awarded a student bursary from Thames Television whilst studying at West Surrey College of Art & Design. He had originally wanted to use the award money to shoot work in a prison but access from authorities was very difficult to obtain, so he widened his thinking towards other ‘closed’ communities. And it was whilst at a local library that he stumbled across a book on the Aran Islands, which described Inis Meáin as the last of the three to have ‘moved’ into the 20th century. With his interest piqued, he visited Inis Meáin, with its population of less than 200 working the land and sea without electricity, and unpredictable contact with the mainland, and started to shoot both photographs and a documentary film Inishmaan Another Day. Some of the latter was shown by the BBC (and stills from this video content appear in the book alongside his medium format images). Such was the impression that the island made on him, that he started to return with camera in hand from 1996 onwards to document the changes that the islanders had gone through (although fishing and cattle rearing remain important industries on Inis Meáin).

The book is divided into two sections, separated by a short essay by Inis Meáin’s current primary school teacher Róisín Conneely. The first seventy pages are devoted to Rodmell’s 1973 work, mainly 6x6 transparencies shot on Ektachrome Pro, which, apparently, he had left filed away for forty years. The second section is a contemporary look at the island which initially started in 1996 and continued over a number of visits up until last year. The book is also interspersed with snippets of interviews recorded in 1973 providing a unique window into a remote community and its values.

The beautiful images reflect the time Rodmell clearly put in to building a relationship with the islanders and their work. The sense of strong community abounds throughout the pages, of stories being told, shared trials and tribulations, of working with and respecting the power of nature – beautifully encapsulated by the series of pictures taken in 1973 of the farmers trying to get their cattle on and off the small ferry anchored just offshore. And a 1973 quote by fisherman Ruairí Ó Coincheanainn rather sums up the history and psyche of the island: “My father was a fisherman. My grandfather. My great-grandfather. It’s part of my life”.

The second half of the book features more recent work and shows how relatively little has changed. Yes, electricity is now abundant and WhatsApp is ubiquitous, and there are other signs of 21st century influence - of course, the clothing is contemporary. But beyond that, Rodmell’s recent images suggest a determinedly preserved culture of tradition, values and kinship, the important role of church life and, albeit seemingly a contradiction on a small island, the beauty of space and freedom. Many of the same families remain there. He revisited the primary school where the children recognised pictures of their grandparents from 1973. And, as it turns, out, herding obstinate cattle, even with the use of motor scooters, remains a challenge for the best of farmers.

Inis Meáin 1973-2023 is a beautiful excursion into both a yester world of the 1970’s - a former Inis Meáin resident got in touch and commented to Rodmell that back in 1973 they had both looked like bewildered time travellers - and not-quite off-grid remote island life in the 2020’s. With stunning colour plates, informative commentary, captions and essays, and at 176 pages, this hardcover first edition of 400 should be an essential part of any documentary photobook collectors’ library and is highly recommended.