An Pobel: Paul
An Pobel — ‘the people’ in Cornish — is a photography project documenting the histories, identities and realities of 8 people who have grown up in Cornwall and live there as permanent residents. In a climate which tends to paint the county either as an idyllic resort or a provincial backwater, An Pobel seeks to allow Cornwall’s nuances to be displayed and discussed by its people, in their own words. In a series of portraits and interviews, these individuals show us themselves and their experiences — the beautiful, the ugly, and the bits in between. Visit my website www.heatherrothney.com for full project.
"I think I just hope Cornwall can keep going. I hope the farming can keep going. It’s really difficult at the minute, I can’t stress that enough. I hope the government… I think food security should be top of their agenda, and not just for Cornwall farming, it should be for everybody. Everybody needs to eat. So there should be a good future for us. I hope we can keep farming the ground and I hope it will carry on, you know… Farmers aren’t good at retiring. I’ve got two daughters, and they’re not farming at the moment. Whether they will I don’t know. But I’m a great believer that they’ve got to do what makes them happy, it’s no good to force them into this line of work. So I just hope Cornwall can continue to flourish, that people come down here and see the beauty. I hope that the countryside will be looked after by the stewards, who are the farmers."