Scotland's Far North

These three bodies of work from the late 1970s provide a unique insight into Scotlandʼs remote landscape, islands and people. Glyn Satterleyʼs series presents a document of life in the neglected area of Caithness and Sutherland at a time when the myth was much banded about that the oil industry brought wealth and prosperity to the whole of Scotland. Chick Chalmers' ʻOrkneyʼ project and Tom Kiddʼs ʻShetlandʼ both present fascinating photographic insights of these island archipelago's at a time of change with the effects of the oil industry on the traditional life of these cultures. Candid and sympathetic, the images show that Scotlandʼs Far North managed to take its place in the modern world without losing too many of the customs and traditions which give these places their special character and ethos.

All three bodies of work appeared in a series by Paul Harris Publishing, an enterprising photography publisher based in Edinburgh at the time. These were Chick Chalmers 'Life in the Orkney Islands' (1979), Tom Kidd 'Life in Shetland' (1980), and Glyn Satterley 'Life in Caithness and Sutherland' (1983). It is from that basis that Street Level has revisited these projects to re-evaluate those times and places from the vantage point of the present.

Scotland's Far North was originally exhibited at Street Level Photoworks in 2017. This exhibition is one of a series which revisits selected projects marking Street Level’s 30th Anniversary. For more information click here.