Being on Guernsey it is impossible to miss the island’s role in WW2. The Channel Islands were the only part of Britain to be occupied by German forces and there are plentiful opportunities to explore that period with museums and exhibitions that tell the story.
Even just walking the coastline paths, there are the constant reminders of remarkably intact and massive artillery batteries, bunkers and gun emplacements. It became one of the most heavily fortified places on earth built by foreign prisoners of war and local islanders.
In the centuries before WW2, an invasion by France was the biggest threat and Loop Towers, then Martello Towers, remain as visual landmarks of Guernsey and the other Channel Islands forming a key part of our southern defence.
New thinking
Coinciding with this trip has been my recent engagement with the work of filmmaker and photographer Robert Golden. His initiative Photography Making Meaning invites fellow creatives to examine our motives for photography; to explore who we are and the causes close to our heart (my simplistic interpretation) then asks us to focus our photography on supporting whatever those influences are e.g. the environment, poverty, racism.
At one of his recent zoom meetings, we spoke briefly about how young men in particular struggle today with what might be described as intellectual reflections. Crudely I guess it could be described as a dumbing down of the younger generation. I immediately thought of the young people I’ve worked with for many years as a public speaking trainer. To contribute to the finale of the day’s training , the students are asked to produce a speech on a topic of their choice. Boys nearly always struggled with this. Despite urging to think of a subject that was important to them they often turned to familiar topics – Ronaldo vs Messi, Utd vs City, favourite crisp flavour – 15 seconds in front of their giggling male friends and they were done.
Girls more often than not dug deeper. Much more in touch with their emotions, even the more introverted were able to talk about subjects that were important to them – growing up, relationships, pressures of being a young person, education, sexism, the environment and so on. And because the topics they chose were important to them, their delivery was engaging and so we, the audience, were engaged too – often to the point of tears. Young men who identified as LGBTQ+ were far more accomplished speakers too.
So what’s this got to do with island fortifications?
Thanks to Robert’s workshops I have been looking at these relics of war in a different way. Previously I would have created photographs simply looking for the best light, the most interesting interplay of colours, highlights and shadows – the usual stuff. Making an attractive shot to sit alongside others from the trip that I’ve included in my previous post.
Now I’m reflecting on these buildings as ‘male machismo follies’, Ronaldo vs Messi, French vs British.
Our world is full of these monumental structures where fear and hatred of others demands we ‘protect ourselves’ with weaponry to keep ‘the enemy at bay’. And it continues to this day of course, Trump’s Wall and the Golden Dome take it to a new level, while closer to home masked (mostly male) protestors in nearby Portsmouth slash RNLI boats carrying refugees. Machismo again negating the possibility of care and respect for fellow humans.
So my attempt now with these ‘holiday snaps’ of these fortifications is to indicate, as best I can with my compositions and edits, the feelings and emotions these buildings represent to me. In a way Robert’s urgings have encouraged me to use the advice I have given to students over many years to “speak about what is important to you” and re-direct that mindset to my photography.
These are just small steps along the way for now but I’m very grateful for the direction and insight Robert’s workshops have given me.
Enough rambling, here’s some photos.
