CULTURE
W IL D W AN DERINGS Images of the Isle of Man by Jimmy Thistle
IMAGES Jimmy Thistle WORDS Suzy Holland
It’s sometimes hard to keep up with the creativity inspired by the Isle of Man particularly over the last couple of years when lockdowns and isolation periods have kept many inside and many others out and about exploring the delights the coast and hills have to offer. Jimmy Thistle is one of the latter - a new name amongst Island photographers (he moved here permanently in July 2020), his exhibition Wild Wanderings is now on at Artea in Port Erin.
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If you are one of the hundreds who follow Jimmy on social media, you’ll already know that he is a recovering alcoholic (18 months sober by the time you read this) who credits the Island with giving him a fresh start, not just in his recovery but also in rekindling his love of photography.
from Glasgow. “After a breakup, and a break down, I came to the Island to join my parents and my brother and his family. I’d visited, of course, but in early 2020 I took the plunge and moved over. I thought then, and know now, that it was the right decision.”
“The Isle of Man is where I need to be,” says Jimmy, who’s originally
It’s hard to comment on the positivity of the photographs in Wild
Wanderings without referencing the dark place he’s come from. “Although I studied photography and worked as a commercial photographer for a while, at one time I was also tied to a desk working long hours in a bank. I knew it wasn’t for me, and my mental health and relationships suffered.” His family could see how Jimmy was plummeting down into an alcohol-fuelled abyss and by the
ISLE OF MAN PREMIER MAGAZINE
