Homeward Bound (New York) 1855 - 1865

Erskine Nicol created this print titled "Homeward Bound (New York)", which captures a moment freighted with personal and historical weight. We see a man, likely an Irish immigrant, standing near a booth advertising passage back to Dublin. His gaze drifts towards the ships, perhaps contemplating return. Nicol, himself Scottish, lived through the immense social upheaval of the Highland Clearances which displaced so many. There's a quiet melancholy here, a sense of being caught between worlds. Consider the emotional complexities for those who left their homes due to poverty, famine, or political strife, only to find themselves longing for what they left behind. The presence of an advertisement speaks to the commodification of human movement, the packaging and selling of hope and belonging. This work gently unfolds the tensions between aspiration and reality. It invites us to reflect on the push and pull of identity, home, and the narratives we construct about where we belong.