VACMA Case Study 2024-2025: Jake Ghaleb

Over the past year my photography has reflected a growing awareness of change on Sanday, and how progress and development on small Islands can present challenges where ‘the old meets the new’. Paradoxically, the synergy between needing to adapt, while preserving the islander culture and identity results in a timeless grit and rawness which I’ve been able to capture as an ongoing record of the response to change. The VACMA grant has enabled the purchase of lenses which respond better to the natural light which has been a consistent theme within my work, along with tutorage from Rosey Priestman to further develop my photography skills. The photographs I’ve taken illustrate the resilience of small communities, and deeply personal images of people who have weathered the passing of time and who I believe hold some of the answers to broader modern questions on sustainability and how we all fit into a sense of place. Although the past twelve months have enabled me to build a portfolio of work around this theme, the support from the grant means that it’ll continue for some time yet.

Through the guidance of Rosey, I’ve become more familiar with specific features of my camera and how to make the most of them in natural settings. More widely, having equipment with greater versatility has meant that I’ve been able to take more candid photographs in a variety of settings. This has unlocked both a confidence to physically expand my work, and the ability to analyse and articulate the drivers behind my art with a wider portfolio. Aside from the concept of ‘change’ which has always been at the forefront of my ideas and creativity – I’ve become more astute to a secondary theme of masculinity which had been an unconscious but important seam which runs through my photography.

The award has provided the nucleus for what I hope to be a body of work called ‘21st Century Clearances’; a depiction of a small islands resilience and ability to adapt, while holding on to core beliefs and identity – in response to the climate crisis which is reducing the land available to sustain the community and a way of life.