Life on the Line: An Interview with Photographers Alan Smith and Radi Konstantinov

Long after Jamaica’s railway ceased passenger operations, its presence remains etched into the landscape and cultural memory. In 2025, photographers Alan Smith and Radi Konstantinov set out on foot to document what remains largely unseen, walking the 70-mile track from Spanish Town to Port Antonio. The exhibition builds on a journey Alan first undertook in 2001, when he walked the railway from Montego Bay to Kingston. Twenty-four years later, their photographs reveal overgrown tracks, crumbling infrastructure, and the lush, untamed scenery that now surrounds the former railway line.

Speaking with curator Emma Miles, Alan and Radi reflect on how the journey informed their photographic approaches and what they discovered through the landscapes and communities they encountered. They also consider photography’s role in preserving cultural memory, shaping national identity, and bringing lesser-known stories into view.

Emma: What were your initial impressions of the railway? Did your perspective change as the days progressed?

Radi: I had initially intended to approach the project more like a social documentary and less of a landscape project. I wanted to focus on the people and communities. When the line was still active, it brought wealth and business to the communities - people could move goods and operate. When the line closed, for the communities to survive, they had to adapt and I was curious to find out how. We met many interesting people along the way, however as I kept on walking, the signs of life that drew my attention and frame, were those that spanned the past and present.

Alan: For me, because I had done the initial trek in 2001, my impressions were very similar. I was ready for it, but the engineering and what they had to do to get the railway from Spanish Town to Port Antonio blew me away.

Radi: Physically walking on the track makes you aware of the immense engineering effort that went into building it. Reading all the facts is impressive but nothing prepares you for the real thing.

Emma: Can you tell us about the people you met along the way - the community members or guides involved in your journey? What did you learn from the communities living along the line, particularly in terms of their relationship to the railway?

Radi: I insisted on having someone from the community walk with us to give us real-time knowledge about the track. We ended up having 3 different people walk with us throughout the journey and we developed quite close friendships with them. They all had childhood memories of walking the track with their parents and were surprised to experience it in this way after so many years.

The people along the way? I don't think this interview is long enough for them. Everyone we met was unique, happy to talk to us and share their story. Most people, when we told them what we were doing, their first question was, ‘are you opening up the track, are you bringing back the line?’

Their relationship to the track is still very evident. They use it as a thoroughfare, as foundation and even as building material - in a way, they still keep it alive.

Emma: Did the physicality of the landscape influence your photographic approach or style in any way?

Radi: Yes, in many ways. When travelling light and moving quickly, you have to make the best of the angle you’re given. Sometimes the perfect shot might be looking in from the sea or from a higher vantage point. That was the beauty of it - the parameters of the journey guided the photos we took. You had to accept that the available shot was the best shot, take the picture and move on.

Alan: It's very much the same for me, you had to travel light and carry minimal equipment. We could not carry stuff “in case”. I took a camera with a built-in lens, an external flash unit, backpack and water. The first day, I carried backup equipment. I did NOT do that on the second day!

Emma: In what way does Life on the Line differ from your previous work as photographers?

Radi: I don't know that it does. It’s a different subject matter, but I took the same principles that I usually apply to my other images and projects and allowed them to guide me on this one. I like to photograph lifestyle, landscapes, and have people in wide open spaces. I frame and look at landscapes in the same way I do people. I am always trying to find the message in what I am photographing. I like for my images to elicit more questions than they provide answers.

Alan: For me, it was completely different, because most of my other work is very commercial. There’s a lot of positioning, lighting, props and production - a lot more that is manipulated in order to create an image. Whereas, in this approach, it was minimalist in equipment and manipulation of the environment, you only photographed what was there. You get to a point where you’re no longer trying to decide how to create the best image. You get into a state of flow where you react to what’s in front of you and shoot without questioning - your body, mind and subconscious start to react to things. You trust yourself to do that because something wonderful can come out of it.

Emma: What role do you believe photography plays in shaping national memory or identity?

Radi: Photography plays a very important role through documentation. I remember thinking that the things I was photographing will probably not be there in another 5 or 10 years. The sea was coming in, tunnels were collapsing, some of the things we saw will soon be gone. Photography is one way to preserve some sort of memory - cultural, historical, national, you can get multiple things from one photograph. In that way, it plays a big role.

Alan: For me, it’s preserving a visual memory. As far as identity, the majority of the feedback I've gotten when presenting the photographs has been, “Is this Jamaica?’ or ‘What country is this?” People don't recognise this as Jamaica. I think it's because of the variety of what they’ve never seen before and realising it’s in their backyard. It's presented in a very beautiful way, even though there's a lot of overgrowth. It's important for people to see and know Jamaica that way.

Emma: How has Life on the Line changed the way you see Jamaica or storytelling?

Alan: Whenever people ask me about living in Jamaica, I tell them it’s an adventure every day. It's the same for people asking me about my profession. Photography is an adventure, so much of what you experience is unexpected. I went into this knowing that I would have some incredible experiences and that I would see things I would never expect. For me it was about being prepared for the unknown and embracing whatever experience I'd have.

Radi: I now know how much more there is to Jamaica that I don't know about. We walked 70 miles, stayed on a pretty narrow path and I'm sure walking 70 miles on another part of the island would reveal just as many surprises and secrets. I now look at every winding path with a different perspective and know how many more stories there are to tell.

Emma: What do you hope this work will mean 25 years from now?

Radi: I hope it holds its value as a historical record and serves as a reminder to people of what happens when things are neglected for too long.

Emma: What is one thing you hope audiences take away from Life on the Line?

Alan: To inspire people to get out there and do stuff, and that for the most part Jamaica is safe.

When you get out into the interior of Jamaica, you realise what wonderful and caring people we have, who are happy to share, just out of the goodness of their heart.