HARBOR WORKSStories
Harbor Works pursues photographs that tell the story of Cundy’s Harbor and its fisheries. In the tradition of small-town studios, like the early 1900’s establishments of Darius Kinsey in Sedro-Woolley, Washington, and Joseph Pennell in Junction City, Kansas, the Gallery is dedicated to creating images that form a portrait of its community. From the century-old interior of Watson’s General Store, where fishermen gather to watch over their boats in a January nor’easter, to the newly renovated Holbrook Wharf, where the 95 ft. Ruth & Pat off-loads herring to an August sunrise, each picture speaks of social change or continuity. Perhaps it is a young husband and wife, deliberating repairs to their aging lobster boat during a season of declining market prices that evokes the relentless challenges to their way of life. Perhaps it is a group of teens playing basketball at the village hoop that suggests the importance of a younger generation to the future of a community. Or maybe it is the silhouette of a lobsterman in sea smoke that accentuates the bleak beauty of a very singular place.
Harbor Works offers a timely and realistic view of Cundy’s Harbor that reflects the dynamic nature of its marine environment. The Harbor Log is an ongoing, virtual exhibit that features periodic observations of the seasonal cycle of work, selections from which are archived in Living the Fishing and occasionally displayed in the Captain’s Room. YouthWorks presents photographs and words by Cundy’s Harbor children, whose narratives provide a teaching and learning resource for the community. Each display comprises a photographic essay—a work in progress. Each reflects the spirit and character of a community that, much like the history of countless other places of work, is struggling to survive.