Scottish Independence Referendum

On Sept 18th 2014, adults in Scotland were asked the following question in a Referendum:

“Should Scotland be an independent country, Yes or No?”

This photo is from a larger series of photographs made in the weeks leading up to the vote in and around Inverness, the capital of the Scottish Highlands. I’ve tried to document a flavour of this historic moment, frozen in time.

For the portraits I set up in the city centre and photographed people telling me how they intended to vote on polling day: thumbs up for ‘Yes’, thumbs down for ‘No’ and a mixture for people who were unsure. There was nothing scientific about my approach, more ‘Yes’ than ‘No’ voters volunteered for photographs. Much hilarity was involved, and I had many good conversations from across the political spectrum. The craic was good.

In the end, the Referendum result was a victory for ‘No’, 55% to 45%. Voter turnout was a very high 85%.