Abandoned: Echoes of past lives, and the questions left behind
“Was it a home to a family, newlyweds, or a bothy for a shepherd or a gamekeeper? Was the doorknob, that is now pitted and rusty, once polished and gleaming? And, just as importantly, who was the last person to shut the door and leave for the last time and take with them the status of ‘home’ that the house once had?”
These are some of questions Angus Mackay asks in his book Abandoned, published to coincide with a joint exhibition of the same name at Waterlines in Lybster, featuring Angus’s photography and artwork by Jane McDonough, inspired by the deserted houses of Caithness and Sutherland.
A continuation of these questions will inevitably occur to readers as they go through the pages of this high-quality volume, absorbing each scene and picking out poignant details framed by peeling wallpaper, crumbling ceilings and rotting floorboards.
Who was the last householder to sit in that decaying armchair? To cook a meal on that rusting stove? To make tea using that battered kettle? To flick through that discarded copy of the Groat? To hammer out a letter on that ancient typewriter? To gaze out from that cobwebbed window?
And that crate of Sweetheart Stout, with a solitary bottle-top still on… a relic of a distant New Year get-together, or some other convivial gathering?
Angus’s pin-sharp and atmospheric interior shots, aided by subtle use of natural lighting, reveal these and other everyday objects that have survived abandonment and withstood the elements – for the time being at least.
Invited into these once-private places through the photographer’s lens, the viewer feels intrigued, transfixed, and fleetingly connected to the people who vacated them.
You can almost sense the ghosts. Equally you can feel almost like an intruder at times, although it is important to stress that Angus took great care to gain permission before entering these properties.
And so we are given privileged access to former homes where the warmth of togetherness has long gone, to be replaced by the cold realities of time and stark reminders of the transient nature of human activity.
Only one human face can be seen within these pages – a man posing happily on a stone bridge in a black-and-white snapshot that was left behind among the clutter in Benachielt, Latheron. Nonetheless it’s a deeply personal collection: it’s just that the people are beneath the surface, out of sight, out of reach.
And you find yourself wondering: is this what will eventually come to pass with our own homes, the places that we today consider to be our sanctuaries? Are they too destined to be abandoned at some point? Will the memories that were created within our own walls sink beneath the foundations or drift away out of gaps in the roof, just as the memories of past generations have done?
I don’t use the word “profound” lightly, but that’s how I feel about this book. The photography is perfect, from the close-ups of kitchen utensils to the sweeping aerial views showing the buildings in the context of the wider landscape, and it is enhanced by Angus’s insightful, well-crafted text.
In every abandoned house he has managed to capture much more than mere buildings and objects. He has conjured up echoes of past lives, and he has done so unobtrusively and respectfully.
Since the book went on sale I’ve heard of people having an emotional reaction to it. I found myself being affected in the same way as I reflected on the rusting, decaying, fading beauty of these forgotten places.
Well, not entirely forgotten. Angus Mackay has made sure of that.
Abandoned, an exhibition of photography by Angus Mackay and artwork by Jane McDonough, is at Waterlines heritage centre in Lybster on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, from 10am to 3pm, until Saturday, December 21. Angus’s accompanying hardback book, Abandoned, with layout by Ken McArthur of North Design, costs £25. It is available through Angus’s website – www.angusmackay.co.uk/abandoned – and at several outlets in Caithness and Sutherland: Glencoast, Helmsdale; the River Bothy, Berriedale; Waterlines, Lybster harbour; Puldagon Farm Shop and Restaurant, near Wick; and Caithness Livestock Breeders, Thurso.
