An on-going photography project documenting the seaport town of Holyhead

Hi Robert, thank you for sharing your on-going project with us. Where did the inspiration for this project come from for this project to start?
I started documenting the seaport town of Holyhead about three years ago. What started as a ‘new topographic’ series, quickly grew and assimilated the socio-political undercurrent of Brexit. By taking an honest look at the town and its people, it tries to decode the obvious paradox of a town that is a gateway to the EU, voting to leave the EU. This is also in common with many other coastal communities in the UK.
The town has certainly been overlooked as a mere thoroughfare for people and goods travelling to and from Dublin. Current lack of employment and austerity has only compounded the town’s problems, leading to a sense of betrayal, alienation and helplessness.
But digging a little deeper, a strong, cohesive community spirit is revealed through a shared history of resilience; the kind that is especially apparent in maritime communities.














Images from this series have been shortlisted for Portrait of Britain 2019, the British Photography Awards 2019 and the ESPY Awards 2019. Work from the series was recently published in Creative Review as part of an article ‘Documenting the Now’.
Twitter: @robs001
Instagram: with_the_grain_photo