A Quiet Migration of John McMillan

 

1. Na Freumhan — The Roots

📍Uachdar, Benbecula | ~1825
A peat field, wind-swept. A low stone house breathes smoke. A boy bends over turf, his body small against the expanse of sky and sea. A narrow path disappears into the bog. The world feels old, held together by labor.

Condition: Inheritance through effort. Isolation without tragedy.
Motifs:

• Wind: constant, formative

• Hands: learning

• Light: cold, at foot-level

• Path: begins but leads nowhere

   

  
  
  

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2. An Dìth — The Absence

📍Benbecula | ~1851
Fences are down. A home stands but smokes no more. Footprints fade in snow. In the distance: indistinct figures moving away, backs turned. A lamb stands alone, but alive. No violence — just a quiet unraveling.

Condition: A community disappears. The Clearances without spectacle.
Motifs:

• Wind: now intrusive

• Path: forked

• Light: mid-morning, colorless

• Hands: missing

  
  
   
  
  
  

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3. Am Fàgail — The Leaving

📍Interior space | ~1850s
Inside a blackhouse. A peat fire barely burns. A coat on a nail. A table is set for two, but one seat is empty. A pair of worn boots at the door. John’s hand rests flat on the table, still.

Condition: Loss. The moment before motion.
Motifs:

• Hands: still, deciding

• Light: sideways, liminal

• Wind: heard, not seen

• Path: implied by absence

  
  
   

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4. Tarsainn — The Crossing

📍North Atlantic | Early 1860s
A Scottish family huddled on the deck of a ship. Faces turned away. The sea is calm, foggy. John’s arm circles Mary. A wrapped infant (possibly not their own) rests near. Behind them, a glimpse of land dissolving into mist.

Condition: Displacement, not hope.
Motifs:

• Wind: absent — breath held

• Hands: protective, bundled

• Path: erased by ocean

• Light: hidden behind cloud

  
  
   

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5. Fo Bhuaidh — Under the Spell

📍Nottawasaga, Canada West | ~1861
A log house in a dark wood. Snow around its base. John chops wood; Mary watches from the doorway. The land is immense and uninviting. A broken wheelbarrow lies half-buried. The house is built, but the world isn't ready to receive them.

Condition: Resistance, survival, foreignness.
Motifs:

• Hands: laboring

• Wind: muffled by trees

• Path: new but blocked

• Light: weak, from within the house

  
  
   

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6. Na Rudan Nach Fhàs Ar Ais — The Things That Don’t Grow Back

📍Same homestead | ~1866
A cradle is empty. Mary is gone. A scarf lies on a stump outside. John stands farther from the house now. Snow is melting, but spring hasn't begun. The land absorbs grief, but doesn’t return anything.

Condition: Loss without ritual.
Motifs:

• Hands: clenched, off-frame

• Light: beautiful but indifferent

• Wind: returns, now soft

• Path: crosses, but alone

  
  
   

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7. Le Làmh — With Hand

📍Grey County, Ontario | ~1880
A field, now ordered. Furrows are straight. John kneels with a young boy (Donald), showing him how to plant. The boy mimics him, but at a distance. A dog watches. A breeze lifts only the edge of a hat.

Condition: Continuity through action, not comfort.
Motifs:

• Hands: teaching

• Path: now a track

• Wind: playful, no longer hostile

• Light: wide, even

  
  
   

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8. Na Dh’fhàg E — What He Left

📍Cemetery | 1894
A plain stone stands near the tree line. A boy (Jack) places a rock atop it. The field is quiet. A bird watches from a wire. John is nowhere, and yet everywhere. The land has stopped resisting.

Condition: Legacy without ceremony.
Motifs:

• Hands: letting go

• Path: leads beyond frame

• Wind: stirs the grass

• Light: clear, non-symbolic

  
  
   

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🔚 Summary of the Arc:

Phase	Paintings	Emotional Focus
World One	1–3	Inheritance, erosion, exile
Crossing	4	Between
World Two	5–8	Resistance, grief, growth, continuity