North Highlands
Mike McCartney
Forewords by HRH The Prince Charles, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, Billy
Connolly
112 pp 210x242mm Full colour Hardback with dust-jacket.
Through the years, the North Highlands of Scotland have fascinated and
drawn in artists from all over the world.
From LS Lowry, who painted Wick and Thurso, to the poet Norman
MacCaig and the writer Neil Gunn – just to mention a few – art has
tried to imitate life in this beautiful stretch of the British Isles.
Following in that great tradition is Mike McCartney. For two weeks in
April, 2008, McCartney recorded his impressions of an area that he
admits is almost impossible to capture fully. That is part of its
elusive allure.
But this resulting book – is another important contribution to the
eternal quest to define one of the most stunning areas in the world.
The North Highlands are impossible to capture in a single phrase,
painting or photograph.
That is because the light, the seasons and the people are constantly
changing on a landscape that is timeless – yet, simultaneously shaped
by the past, absorbed in the present and embracing the future.
It is to this physical and social landscape that McCartney has brought
his sharp eye and keen intelligence – but also his trademark Scouse
humour, well-honed from his earlier days in the satirical group, the
Scaffold.
McCartney was commissioned by Highlands and Islands Enterprise to
highlight the area’s beauty and diversity and as a place in which to
live, to work and to escape. His journey was an epic one and his days
long. But his sheer enthusiasm and passion for his art – and The North
Highlands – shines through this stunning collection of images.
McCartney’s photography has a poetry and a rhythm but also a sense of
reportage, that magical quality of capturing a time, a place and a
moment in a single image. He has a talent for taking pictures that
never leave you because they often contain more complex messages than
is obvious at first glance.
McCartney is not a complete stranger to the area. He mounted an
exclusive public exhibition of his Live8 photographs for the award-
winning John Lennon Northern Lights Festival at Durness in September
2007 – including portraits of his brother Paul, of Travis and of
Annie Lennox. The exhibition attracted worldwide interest. After
travelling to Durness to open the exhibition, McCartney was struck by
the diversity of the area.
“It left quite a mark and I wanted to return to take part in this big
project, but I feel that I’ve only touched the tip of the iceberg,” he
said. “I think the North Highlands are unique and there are few more
fascinating places. The area has the rare ability to keep drawing
people back – including me! In fact the North Highlands were a well-
kept Scottish secret ... till now.”
Every picture tells a story, but Mike McCartney takes his art one step
further. For him, as you will see, every story tells a picture.
Publisher: Guy Woodland/Woodland Publishing
ISBN: 978-1-905547-09-8
Recommended Retail Price: £15.00
Loch Croispol and World Book Market Price: £13.50
Number of pages: 112
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