I don’t want to turn this into a blog largely about my own work but it is probably a good place to kick off the blog. I guess what I am doing at the moment would fall more into the ‘beautifully mundane’ category than the downright ‘positive’.
A bit of background for you…
The Forest of Dean has a rich heritage of coal mining dating back hundreds of years and it really boomed during the industrial revolution. However, after the Second World War, mining in the area was no longer economical and one by one they began to close. In 1965 the last of the major gales was forced to close and now only a few collieries remain.
Obviously this has all had a major effect on the landscape, but gradually the land is beginning to recover and cover over the traces of what was once there. Today, there is fortunately (for me) still plenty of evidence and this is what I am photographing. I am making quite mundane (but hopefully beautiful) pictures that celebrate the landscape whilst also holding some subtle reference to what was once there. My aim is that I will not have to explicitly reference what the spectator is looking at but that they will gradually build up an idea as they look through the entire work. It is a work very much in progress.
Lovely blog, Scot. I love Jem Southam too. But where are your pictures of the Forest of Dean. Put them up and tell us about them.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that my work is ready to face everyone yet haha I will put it up in good time. Thanks for replying to my email, I appreciate it.
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure Scott - but be sure to get all the local characters and everyday eccentricities up there - I'd love to hear about that and link to it.
ReplyDeleteCheck this out if you can - you need to do a Forest of Dean version of this
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1887627/
I agree with Colin, great blog but it builds the intrigue, we want to see the Forest of The Dean....incidentally, linked to the mining communities this area was one of the first with its own community radio station. Community stations first popped up around the mining communities in bolivia in the middle of the 20th century....boring fact. Anyway, get some or a picture up here please Scott!
ReplyDeleteJames
That documentary sounds right up my street! That will have to be the follow up project to what I am doing at the moment I think.
ReplyDeleteJames - The project hasn't even properly gotten off the ground yet because there have been so many other things going on but there will be pictures soon.