Phil Kneen

‘Is the unfinished at sight?’ - Is it possible to see and show the things that are not yet done or finished, or haven’t happened? 

This question, to me, asks if it’s possible to see into the future, which, of course, nobody can. However, photography can, in a way, predict the future, warning or preparing for what may be about to come. 

When I was a child in the 1970s and 1980s, growing up on the Isle of Man, the fishing industry was still a significant presence. Peel breakwater, on the west of the Island, would be full of fishing boats, end to end, 10 boats long and 5 or 6 deep, out into the harbour. Three decades later, looking out of my window across the bay, I can see, at most, eight boats. 
As I started recording the lives of the fishermen on the Isle of Man, 12 years ago, I was sure that I was documenting the final breaths of a soon-to-be-gone industry, a prediction of something not yet happened. But this hasn’t been the case. Through strict control and regulations, changes in fishing methods, and environmental research, marine stocks have become more abundant and sustainable. 
Is it possible to see into, and show, the future? Yes, it is, but in doing so, we can, hopefully, change the outcome...