THE fifth issue in a series of photozines produced by Éditions Emile was launched at the Jersey Festival of Words yesterday at Jersey Library.
Éditions Emile is an imprint that celebrates the collections held in the Société Jersiaise photographic archive, and the latest publication – of photographs laid out in a magazine style – is titled ED.EM.05 Agriculture and features images donated by Maurice Richardson, a past president of the society who died earlier this year. Mr Richardson’s archive comprised numerous boxes and various files of photographs, slides and negatives which provide an insight into all aspects of rural and agricultural life in Jersey from the 1960s through to the 1990s.
Yesterday’s launch also included a panel discussion on the past, present and future of agriculture in Jersey. It was chaired by India Hamilton, co-founder of SCOOP sustainable food co-operative, who also wrote a text to accompany the images. She said: ‘What is important is the balance of change and the understanding that we don’t need to get fixated on any one product or industry. Every country in the world is being asked to readdress its food security, farmers are being asked to change their techniques and the environment is calling to be counted.’
Éditions Emile editors Patrick Cahill and Martin Toft commented: ‘Agriculture was a subject close to Maurice, himself a small-scale grower, and from a line of farmers stretching back over 400 years. The photographs show an industry in transition but also an awareness and desire to keep traditional practices alive. The photographs are particularly poignant considering how many farms have closed during the period Maurice was active and since these images were made.’
Copies and a set of limited-edition prints are available online at edem.je or at the Société Jersiaise bookshop at 7 Pier Rd, St Helier.
