Nature’s
Reclamation
This vast landscape,
scarred and made barren by man’s
industrial intervention, has an air
of beauty cast upon it by the hand
of nature. Ever since the first discovery
of earth’s mineral wealth by
humans, Mother Nature has been using
every element at her disposal, desperately
trying to cling on to and reclaim
what is rightfully hers. This area
of South Wales is a prime example
of Nature’s Reclamation, with
this mountain landscape showing evidence
of extensive coal mining and iron
making during the Industrial Revolution.
The topography resembles black undulating
sand dunes that are constantly shifting
and reforming into new and even more
complex structures. The main reason
for this geological reorganisation
is the extreme weather conditions.
Situated on top of a mountain, the
climate is incredibly variable and
therefore difficult for even the hardiest
of plant life to grasp the terrain.
This hardship results in a microenvironment
of rivers, valleys, cliffs, crevices
and numerous other features normally
found on a much larger scale.
The photographs in this
project have focused on the way in
which all the elements usually associated
with grandeur, have come together
to form natures own diminutive landscapes.
Each unique illustration has concentrated
on one specific area of this vast
terrain in a bid to show how nature
is trying to claim back a small piece
of land it once owned and dominated.
Each image in the selection has been
specifically kept small and placed
upon a large canvas to signify the
vastness of the land in contrast to
the relatively small area photographed.
When the image is placed against the
stark white backdrop, it allows the
viewer to get a sense of space. Some
images have shown just a hint of past
industrial usage while others show
more recent activities. The square
format breaks landscape convention
and becomes a grid reference, as if
pointing to a specific area of this
unique industrial heritage site.
The nearest settlement
built up around this landscape is
the South Wales town of Blaenavon,
a settlement that played a vital part
in the Industrial Revolution, which
transformed not just the landscape
but the culture and society of Wales.
After years of decline due to the
rising cost of extraction and energy
wasted in the coal-mining process,
pits started to shut down. The mining
sector was then ravaged in the mid-1980s
when miners striking against pit closures
were crushed after a bitter struggle
with the Conservative government of
former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
The area photographed in this project
is now known as the Blaenavon Industrial
Landscape World Heritage Site. Its
promotion is greatly assisting in
the sensitive regeneration of the
area which suffered so badly, both
economically and socially, following
the decline of the iron and coal industries.
As a touring exhibition, this project
will give people an insight into the
Welsh industrial past and celebrate
the redevelopment of this specific
area.
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