Pilchards 1897

Curator: My first impression? Overwhelming movement, and that light, the way it catches the pilchards. You can almost smell the sea air. Editor: Indeed. Charles Napier Hemy captured a pivotal moment in labour history with his painting, Pilchards. There’s no definitive date, but we know Hemy, born in 1841, was deeply inspired by maritime life. Curator: It's not just about the work, though, is it? Look at how the men are crammed together, a real sense of collective effort… and vulnerability. Editor: Absolutely, the collectivity. The focus on labour evokes socialist realism, while the naturalistic depiction ties it to debates around class and environmental exploitation. Curator: I keep thinking about all those fish. This painting has such life in it, it's like a small, salty world. Editor: And isn’t that the point? It's a reminder that these seemingly small lives are integral to larger structures and histories. Curator: Yes, food chains, labour chains, all those connections. Hemy really put those together. Editor: Hemy certainly prompts us to consider those complex interdependencies, and what they mean for all of us even today.