Teän Roberts (Hold Fast) - Slack Tide, 2025

SLACK TIDE, 2025

Digital giclée photographic print on 310gsm cotton rag archival paper

Seaweed is an incredible source of nutrients, but during the kelp industry’s peak, it was illegal to use it to fertilise the islands’ fields (a traditional farming method implemented across the UK’s western seaboard), as it was seen by local authorities as more valuable when burned for kelping. This undoubtedly compounded the inhabitants’ poverty, as they grew their crops in nutrient-poor soil that may have been further poisoned by kelping smoke.

Today, the kelp forests that surround the islands are heavily protected, and Scilly has some of the healthiest and wildest kelp ecosystems in the UK. The seaweed acts as a carbon sink, sequestering carbon dioxide and reducing the threat of climate change. The waters surrounding the islands are designated as a Special Area of Conservation, and the kelp reefs are one primary focus of the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Marine Nature Recovery Framework, where they are designated as a top regional marine priority for restoration and climate resilience.

16x20 inches. Edition of five. £120