Latest news with #AFishCalledJulie
The Guardian
18-03-2025
- General
- The Guardian
Did you catch that? On the boats with Cornish fishers
For a year and a half, photographer Jon Tonks journeyed around the coast of Cornwall, from Newlyn to the Isles of Scilly, Mousehole and Cadgwith, spending time both quayside and at sea. A Fish Called Julie: In waters off Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly by Jon Tonks is at the Martin Parr Foundation, Bristol, 3 April to 22 June. The exhibition is part of the nationwide initiative We Feed the UK created by the Gaia Foundation. An exhibition of the We Feed the UK project is at The Royal Photographic Society, Bristol, 3 April to 22 June Jon Tonks: 'I was fishing with a guy called Jacob on the Isles of Scilly where he grew up. He's 23 years old and has his own fishing boat. He was pulling in his pots to check for lobsters, and would throw back anything undersized or spawning. This one was undersized, so I asked if I could try and capture the return. I primed myself with the camera and flash in my hand, counted to three, and we went for it. I didn't see the gulls top and bottom watching the whole procedure until I developed the film' 'This image was made when I was out with Will, who was line fishing for mackerel. He is 21 years old and lives in Newlyn. He's taken me out to sea a few times over the course of this project, and this was during the second outing. The first time was unsuccessful by comparison, but here he pulled in around 70kg of mackerel by hand. As the boat filled up, I started to run out of places to stand that weren't covered in blood or mackerel. My boots glimmered for days from fish scales' 'I named the project A Fish Called Julie after I came across two sea bass in a container. I was making pictures at the fish market in Newlyn where fish are offloaded, iced and sold. Whether the fish were destined for Julie, who would cook them that night somewhere, or if they'd been landed by a boat of the same name, I was unsure. But to me it looked like a name tag you'd get at a networking event. It made me smile. And for those who might miss the reference, it also made me think of the 1988 British movie A Fish Called Wanda' The work of fishing communities is dictated by the elements and the seasons. Knowledge and respect for both are passed down the generations. This project is a continuation of Tonks' previous work telling the stories of people whose lives are shaped by geography and history. He was drawn to small towns and islands because by focusing on a microcosm, he could tell a wider tale 'Jof and his son Inigo live on St Agnes, Isles of Scilly. I visited Jof for the first time in January 2024, after a short flight from Land's End and a quick boat trip. He is well known for making traditional withy pots entirely plastic free, using locally grown willow. His workshop was amazing – his industrial design background was immediately apparent. You could see the whole production process: pots that had spent a year out at sea, and some that were brand-new, the warm orange willow fading to a ghostly white' 'This image was made off St Agnes, in Isles of Scilly. After visiting Jof in January 2024, I returned in May to fish with him. His self-engineered catamaran allows him to row in shallow waters. His methods are plastic-free and motorless – I followed him in a kayak. The silence of being at sea without the chug of an engine was amazing. Using my Hasselblad on a kayak was less relaxing, but allowed me to get close to the water. My most lasting memory was of the silence being broken by an inquisitive seal breathing behind me' 'Being a small-scale fisher in Cornwall is a metaphor for how to live your life. When the weather tells you not to fish, listen. Allow the seas to replenish. Sustainable fishing means something different to everyone, but real sustainability teaches us not to be greedy, to give nature a chance and leave enough for the next generation' 'David had spent the day fishing for cuttlefish and I bumped into him at the harbour as he unloaded his catch to the market. The ink across his face was from the fish, released as a defence mechanism when they are caught – apparently it's hard to wash off.' You can read more about this series in this Observer piece At a time when there is an increasing disconnect between the food we eat and its origins, Tonks's photographs show the communities that have fished off the coasts of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly for generations, sharing their stories, traditions and challenges He captures the wind, rain and unrelenting swells; the nimbleness of the fishers navigating chaotic tumbles of nets and ropes on ever moving fishing vessels; yellow trousers punctuating the ocean grey Tonks heard the stories of fishers of 50 years, who have witnessed the cod moving north because of rising sea temperatures. He heard of pilchards thrown to the birds in thanks for guiding boats to the shoals as effectively as sonar; puffins starving for lack of the sand eels that have been overfished and fed to chickens. Giant commercial vessels are devastating populations and habitats through overfishing and bottom trawling, legitimised by laws that prioritise profit rather than sustainability Cornwall is a place of folklore and traditions. Tonks says: 'This is David, sat with a pint and a mince pie at the Ship Inn in Mousehole. It is December 2023 on Tom Bawcock's Eve, a celebration and memorial for a legendary villager who went to sea during severe storms, catching fish for the villagers during a period of famine' 'A huge stargazy pie is made at the pub each year, with fish heads poking out the top of the pastry. David worked much of his life for Trinity House, maintaining lighthouses around the country. He is sat next to a small plaque above an armchair commemorating his late brother'
The Guardian
16-03-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
‘Fishing in Cornwall is like a metaphor for life': photographer Jon Tonks on landscape, community and the perfect catch
Two figures bend over a ship's gunwale, busy with a net, their bright yellow oilskins in brilliant contrast to the inky night. A flock of gulls, eerily spectral in the camera flash, frenzied by the impending catch, flap and wheel in a void so black that sea and sky are one. With their backs turned, it is unclear exactly what the figures are doing, but their straining forms and the intensity of the scene suggests swift, coordinated action. Unlike the quiet serenity that characterises many other photographs in this series, made among fishing communities in Cornwall by Birmingham-born photographer Jon Tonks, this image reflects a precarious – and occasionally perilous – livelihood. 'Being out on the boat, you don't think you're in a dangerous situation, but you realise just how quickly it could all go wrong,' says Tonks, whose project A Fish Called Julie is the result of 18 months spent on the coast and at sea, between Newlyn, the Isles of Scilly, Mousehole and Cadgwith. 'If you slipped over, went overboard, or got your foot caught in a line, it could be really dangerous.' Fortunately, Tonks avoided any such calamity during his time at sea, his most severe injury sustained from long stretches holding his medium-format camera aloft. 'It felt hilarious at times, being on a fishing boat that's rolling around in the dark, trying to change a roll of film or make my flash work. And, of course, using a Hasselblad – it's a mirror, so what I'm looking at is inverted. It's amazing I didn't get seasick … ' The project, which goes on show at the Martin Parr Foundation, Bristol, next month, is part of We Feed the UK, a nationwide storytelling campaign by biocultural diversity organisation the Gaia Foundation, tasking photographers and poets to raise awareness of sustainable food producers across soil, seed and sea. From August 2023, Tonks made more than a dozen visits to the coast from his home in Bath. 'Fishermen are really hard to get hold of,' says the 44-year-old with a wry smile. 'It's not an email situation, it's a turn up at the harbour situation.' Relying on word of mouth and personal recommendations, Tonks quickly discovered a community willing to collaborate. 'First, I went down and had a really good meeting with some people working in the sustainable fishing world to discuss what is considered sustainable,' says Tonks. 'Some of the early conversations were about the size of the boat – people suggested sustainability is about a boat that's under 10 metres.' Deliberately choosing to avoid big trawlers – which with their superior size, manpower and technology can remain at sea longer, cast nets wider and locate fishing grounds more accurately – Tonks instead focused on smaller boats. These vessels supplied less than 15% of all fish landed in Cornish ports in 2021, yet represent a more sustainable alternative. Not only does their size dictate they pay greater heed to the elements, allowing fish stocks to replenish in bad weather, but with their ability to change quickly between fishing gear – from nets, to lines, dredges and traps – they land a more selective and sustainable catch. 'Fishing in Cornwall is like a metaphor for life,' explains Tonks. 'I love the notion that fishermen are completely governed by what the sun and wind are doing, what's in season and what type of boat they're going out on.' Working in harmony with the seasons and weather lends the series its rhythm. All-action shots at sea contrast with quieter moments on land; fishermen chewing the fat; Christmas lights in Mousehole on Tom Bawcock's Eve, the annual festival celebrating a fisherman who braved stormy seas to alleviate his village's hunger. This causal relationship between environment and culture has been at the heart of Tonks's practice since completing his masters at London College of Communication. While studying, Tonks visited Ascension Island, the British-governed territory, roughly the size of Disney World, in the middle of the South Atlantic. That trip became the catalyst for Empire, his 2013 book exploring vestiges of British colonialism on four remote islands. Tonks's second book, The Men Who Would Be King (2021), saw him once again investigating the legacy of imperialism via ancestral belief systems and the assimilation of Anglo-American ideals on the archipelago nation of Vanuatu in the South Pacific. Though local by comparison, A Fish Called Julie represents a similar dialogue between landscape and community, a place where, 'you'd wake up in the morning, open your curtains and look at what the sea's doing'. Indeed, the project's title stems from this close proximity: 'I'd been watching these guys off-load their catch all day, and there was this one box with two sea bass with a label on it that read 'Julie'. It just made me laugh,' explains Tonks. 'I don't know who Julie is – it could be the name of a boat – but it made me think the fish is for someone called Julie who asked, 'If you've got any sea bass, I'll take them.'' This emphasis on local, seasonal fishing and consumption represents the urgent policy required by the industry to safeguard its longevity. 'We shouldn't be able to walk into our local supermarket and say, 'What do I fancy today?'' says Tonks. 'You should be asking, 'What do you have?' We're too attuned to having everything we want, whenever we want it.' Yet in spite of prevailing customer habits, which Tonks hopes will change with rising awareness, the past 18 months have left the photographer with more reasons for optimism than concern. 'A lot of the younger guys I've been out with are really conscious about longevity,' says Tonks. 'They're very mindful about not catching something because they know it needs time to replenish.' 'I really didn't want this to be a series of weathered fishermen. Of course, there's a couple of weathered-looking chaps in there, but there's also signs of youth coming through. I think it's important for people in their 20s to see that it's a viable career option, and there's enough information and energy for a good future.' A Fish Called Julie by Jon Tonks is at the Martin Parr Foundation, Bristol, from 3 April to 22 June
