The Scottish National Galleries have a vast collection of 55,000 photographs, spanning 40 years. This exhibition presents the highlights of Scottish photography, encompassing an array of times, places, and themes. Comparing early photography and recent developments, photography is used as a tool to examine and investigate the depths of human emotion.
The exhibition contrasts famous Scottish figures like actor David Tennant, Jackie Kay (National Poet of Scotland), and tennis heroes Jamie and Andy Murray with ordinary people. Gingers is an example of the representation of everyday people, spotlighting the 13% of the Scottish population who have the recessive gene for ginger hair, reframing this common stereotype…
The positioning of the displays forces you to confront different uncomfortable emotions simultaneously. Hanging Dan McCullin’s Shell Shocked US Marine next to his A Boy at the Funeral of His Father who Died of AIDS, beautifully and sadly captures grief and loss, next to horror and fear, completely overwhelming the senses. The young boy’s gaze meets the camera unflinchingly, brave and in control, while the soldier freezes, showing the range of response to suffering.
Jackie Kay, in the accompanying audio tour, calls for increased Black representation in exhibitions like this. She wants to counteract the automatic perception of a Scottish person as a white person, making hugely important comments about the power of representation.
To unite so many points in time frozen through photography all at once is an incredible power. It reminds us that no matter our time, place or emotion, we all have a shared connection whether that be through the inevitability of human suffering, the unexpected joys of life, or the fact that we all have unique personalities that can be captured in a portrait.
Celebrating 40 Years of Scotland’s Photography Collection is on now at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery until 16 March 2025
“scottish portrait gallery” by bobsee is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.