Scott Murray  

"Scotland is painted in so many different lights, this is simply outside my window in South Perthshire, ever changing."
Photo: Scott Murray, 2018.

For me photography is like a large 'selfie stick', except that I seldom photograph myself. I try to captrure the world that I belong to in its many images.

At the moment I am a retired high school teacher of religion/philosophy over the years I have worked at many things from tailor to shepherd and fruit and vegetable salesman all to complex to describe. At 45 years of age I decided to become officially 'clever' and entered University and started working as a school teacher at 50 years of age.

I started catching images a while back and the advent of Facebook gave me my platform sharing and I treat it like a simple wee art gallery and simply give. Facebook was the gallery that led me to be asked to present my work by Gordon Kerr the organiser of Dazzling Sparks an arts foundation. This was during a five day creative circles event at Burnlaw in the North of England in July 2018

Celtic Connections, music festival, Glasgow, Scotland. Photo: Scott Murray, 2018.

Ion
is
an atom or molecule
with a net electric charge due
to the loss or gain of one or more electrons.

Grandson with chainsaw.Photo: Scott Murray, 2018.

I had just bought a new chainsaw and by coincidence my grandson and just seen the movie 'The Texas chainsaw n massacre', naturally he wanted to hold my chainsaw so just sometimes you get to set up and pose an image.
What was going on his mind as he posed is anybodies guess.

Ulva Island, Scotland. Photo: Scott Murray, 2018.

The Island of Ulva
Ulva is a small Island which lies of the west coast of Mull, which itself lies to the west of Scotland [get your maps out]. Over the last few hundred years the Island was owned by individuals. During the mid 19th century there was over 600 inhabitants, these people were 'cleared or evicted' over a few years, from their lands to make way for sheep as the owner deemed sheep more profitable than the people and the rents they paid. The people were scattered to the four corners of the globe.

At Ard Glass those who were to old or infirm were left in a small row of houses which became known as Starvation point.

Photo and text: Scott Murray, 2018.

Opposite Ard Glass on the mainland of Mull is the waterfall Eas Fors which has watched over events on Ulva over the centuries.

Ulva Island. Photo: Scott Murray, 2018.

The most recent owner put the island up for sale at the cost of in excess of 4 million pounds. Local people decided to buy the Island and through the assistance of the Scottish Government were given the money to purchase the land for the people. This was carried out in June 2018.

Our family had lived on Ulva for a few years and when the day came for the ownership to go to the people we could not resist attending on this historic day.

All important events in Scotland need a piper and if you are patients as he marches up and down to his pipes the mountain simply comes into the right place for framing him.

Ben Lomond. Photo: Scott Murray, 2018.

Scotland is land blessed with changing weather and light. Ben Lomond taken from the Carse of Stirling just as the sun left the sky. I do not consider that I the land belongs to me but rather that I belong to the land

Moine Mhor National Nature Reserve stone circle.
Photo: Scott Murray, 2018.

This land is ancient with the footprints and bones of its people. These stones mark the burial place of 'someone' I was taken by the image of the dead tree to the left beside this ancient burial place some 5,000 years old

Ben Lomond. Photo: Scott Murray, 2018.

Scotland is land blessed with changing weather and light. Ben Lomond taken from the Carse of Stirling just as the sun left the sky. I do not consider that I the land belongs to me but rather that I belong to the land

Photo: Scott Murray, 2018.

Within a rocky gully on the shoreline of Vatersay on the outer Hebrides the sea turned up one of the wonders of the world. Watching this almost solid 'mixture' I shot and shot and shot, wondering what is it?

Later it was explained to me that it was a collection of 'dead' particles from the oceans creatures, animals and vegetation all put together by the storm as if a giant 'washing machine' had blenched together all the elements into an almost semolina or custard paste.

Mount Carmel. Photo: Scott Murray, 2018.

Taken in Haifa Israel on Mount Carmel. This is part of a building within the Baha'i holy places.

I was struck by the solid near Grecian lines of the stone complemented by the open space.

The contrast between the solid, 'architecture' and the 'portal', to me, is like a link between the material and spiritual world.

Bahji. Photo: Scott Murray, 2018.

The mansion of Bahji in Israel is the resting place of the mortal remains of the founder of the Baha'i Faith, Baha'u'llah. It is the centre of pilgrimage for the Baha'is of the world.

His remains are inside the little building with red roof tiles. I felt somehow reticent to approach the actual resting place and stood on this balcony waiting to take this picture. People kept passing me and walking along the balcony and turning the corner out of view then coming back.

I wanted 'aloneness' just me and my thought and wanting to capture the lines leading towards Baha'u'llah's resting place pointing towards the place I was reticent to approach. After some twenty to thirty minutes I was alone. It was worthwhile..

Photo and Text: Scott Murray, 2018.

This is where it gets personal …... words and images.....

“Its written in stone”

Biblical...Moses, Stone tablets....

This image is from Glendale on Skye where my people on my mothers side the Campbell's came from...

The Clerics the Church helped the Landlords evict the people hence the first line... “Its written in stone”

“ that you will leave, leave you must”

ordered. told by the Church, and in those days the people were deeply religious. The church was doing the dirty work of the established order, nothing changes, they still do. My people 'left', cleared, evicted??? who knows the exact details, this was around the 1800's

I went back to Glendale 2014, gravestones had the first names of my Campbell family, Alexander, John, Hugh, Joseph......later I found traces of where they lived...

“oh hearts, spill the sorrow”

Later the Campbell's in Glendale were involved in the fight back against the state and the landlords during the Revolution in the 1800's Still our hearts “spill the sorrow” in out fight against the British state and the establishment in our struggle for Scottish Independence as does my son and daughter and grandchildren.
I'm sure that Hugh Campbell born circa 1780 in Glendale Skye would be proud of his line still involved in the struggle for justice...