Christian's Cave, The Omniscient Eye. (From the project, Big Fence) 'Roid week Day 3, image 2

Hi all, nice to see so many beautiful pictures again for roid week! Scroll down for the image description!

 

I’m finally able to share some of the Polaroids that I took on Pitcairn Island in 2015 – so long ago now, but as most of you know, I was busy writing Polaroid: The Missing Manual - www.amazon.com/Polaroid-Complete-Experimental-Instant-Pho...

 

I hadn't wanted to share these images until I had exhibited them, etc, but now, since my exhibition Big Fence / Pitcairn Island opened, I’m finally able to post. Incidentally, the show is open now, so if you find yourself in London, or passing through Essex, take a look. The weather has been amazing this week and it’s a hop, skip, and a jump from London. Lots of Polaroids on show, plus some medium format work. Take a look ! www.francescamaffeogallery.com

 

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Christian’s Cave sits like an all-seeing eye surveying Adamstown. It is so named, as this was the spot where Fletcher himself would sit as his own madness closed in - watching over the tiny community that he had founded and scanning the horizon for passing ships.

 

I wondered whether Fletcher was looking for ships not to raise the alarm, but as a way out, and I ruminated on whether he was purposefully distancing himself from the goldfish bowl below.

 

Fletcher’s end is highly questioned, but whatever happened, his legacy lives on today - some of the Christian clan still live on Pitcairn island.

 

I too took solace in the cave. Most islanders are unable to clamber up the steep slopes to its entrance, and those who can are disinterested. Loose rock and spiky “grab-a-leg” seedlings make the walk hair raising and uncomfortable. There are no barriers to be found, just a cliff edge vanishing into the blue.

 

I was happy to take the risk, as I knew that I would not be bothered up there. Though if I made the pilgrimage for privacy, that I did not find. There is nowhere quite as conspicuous Christian’s Cave.

 

It is visible in almost every outdoor photograph that I took, a reminder of the Mutiny past. If Pitcairn has an iconic location, this is it.

 

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And in case you're wondering...

 

"Big Fence", the name to my project, is the name of Steve and Olive Christian’s home. It is often said to be the place where decisions are made over dinner, rather than in the council meetings. Steve’s approval is paramount. I stayed there for much of my time on island, the Christian family’s fence being one I figuratively had to climb.... without their acceptance my time on island would have been even more difficult.

 

I also chose the name Big Fence for another reason - the sea views visible from every room in the Christian’s sprawling home are a constant reminder of the fence between Pitcairn and the world. An uninterrupted strip of blue rarely penetrated by so much as a passing ship. On island, HMP Pitcairn sits hidden amongst the green just off the one paved road, fenced off. It is the only fenced building on the island. The Big Fence “gang” - as the friends, family, and associates within Steve Christian’s became known - were the most prolific group in the sexual abuse trials. Olive Christian’s two sons, husband, father and brother were all convicted. Her father had home detention, her brother community service - the three others were locked in jail. Their sentences were short and Pitcairn specific, unreflective of their crimes, but when surrounded by the biggest fence of all, the Pacific, and already removed from the world, was HMP Pitcairn only symbolic? A nod to British justice? Had the trials changed anything or was the abuse woven into the island’s fabric so deeply that it was impossible to escape

Done