Leave no visible trace
Nuala Mahon
My maternal ancestors lived from the sea. Their boats were small and their nets made from fibrous material that rotted if they got snagged and were cut free. Today we live in a world of plastic which when disposed of will, it is predicted, take hundreds if not thousand of years to break down into microplastics.
The poem ‘No Trace’ was written by Nollag Rowan in response to the Pinhole images
NO TRACE Leave no trace as you pace the face of our land Leave nothing visible it’s inadmissible almost risible Yes plastics are nasties long-lasting Had a function at some junction but waste’s dysfunctional Until we re-use fuse new use new purpose Recycle the ‘shoals’ dumped on our shores function restore No plastics degrade but can be re-made re-laid purpose regained Such plastic waste such distaste such profound disgrace I say ‘leave no visible trace’
~ NOLLAIG ROWAN. Sherkin Island. July 2021.
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The small Atlantic island beaches where I live receive ‘shoals’ of plastic from the sea.
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Pinhole cameras were handcrafted to create the images.
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Conditions were often harsh with westerly winds and driving rain.
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Some days the sun shone.
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On many days the weather forced me inside to create images.
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Image Titles
Ropes and Nets Page 7 Buoy Page 13 Lobster pot lid Page 15 Plastic shoe Page 19 Fisherman’s boot Page 23 Children’s toys Page 27 Trawling nets Page 31 An ‘odd’ pair of plastic clogs
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Oil canisters Page 35
Round and Oval buoys Page 37
All other images are the result of ‘chance’
Bladderwrack seaweed, collected from the beach, was used as a developer. The images were fixed using salt.