A Scottish Trilogy

This exhibition marks the first occasion where a selection of works from all three series in ‘A Scottish Trilogy’have been exhibited together and, the very first time ‘This Land We Share’ has been shown in the UK.  It is fitting and deeply gratifying on a personal level therefore, that this should take place here in Uig, the very heart of the community where the work was made.

‘At Sea’, 2013, ‘No Ruined Stone’, 2018 and ‘This Land We Share’, 2024, represents more than a decade of work.  When I set out to make the trilogy, my goal was to explore the notion of community in my native Scotland, to survey its people and topography and to offer a visual slice of time in its history.

The communities I photographed are only three among Scotland’s many diverse communities – they were a subjective artist’s choice.  Even so, I hope the trilogy’s breadth of subject, place and demographic range is clear.

There is no doubt that my initial idea developed greatly over the course of making the work.  In a fast-changing world, where many communities are feeling fragmented and polarised due to sociopolitical events, the core meaning of this trilogy, for me at least, is timelier and more relevant than I had ever imagined it would be.

Community and the good values they exhort are the foundation stone of any society, but I have learnt they must be universal values.  When community identity becomes exclusive rather than inclusive, as is increasingly the case, then only the worse ensues.

I was privileged to engage with three communities over a decade and, as a relative outsider in all instances, it encourages me to say that without exception, I found nothing but unconditional kindness, friendship, respect and humanity.

In return, I hope I have portrayed these communities with the dignity they deserve.

Paul Duke, September 2026.

This exhibition is a part of the Season of Photography 2026 -  a celebration of photography in Scotland running from 1 September – 20 December 2026