port talbot stories part i
Strange times, as we keep getting told… I’m really missing getting out and taking photographs and particularly progressing the Community of Steel project, so in the meantime, I thought it might be interesting to document some of my experiences of visiting Port Talbot and share them with you. This first instalment, however, looks a little at the background to the project, and indeed me! Who is this guy and why is he doing this project?
I live with my wife and children in Bristol. I’ve done a few different things in my life (even emptying bins!), but by training I am an Interior Designer. I’ve worked in several different roles in this capacity, and latterly spent twelve years working for a large architectural practice in Bristol, managing a team for eight of those years. The origins of the project were during this time, but more of that shortly.
Photography was always a passion for me - I had my first camera (a 110 film camera… remember those?) when I was very young, graduating to a 35mm compact camera when I was 10. Sadly, it wasn’t a career, though, until more recently.
Meanwhile, back in the world of Architecture and Interiors in 2009, I started work on a project in Ebbw Vale. As many of you will know, there was once one of the largest steelworks in Europe in Ebbw Vale. Availability of minerals and labour made it an ideal location initially, however by the 1970’s, British Steel, who were then the owners of the plant, decided that they would focus on their coastal sites for ease of delivery of imported ores. It looked like the writing was on the wall for Ebbw Vale, with the iron making operation closing down in the late 1970’s, while cold rolling, tin plating and galvanising continued until final closure in 2002. Part of the wider regeneration of the site that became known as “The Works’, our commission was to refurbish the General Offices, a glorious Edwardian red brick and stone building, and make it suitable for use by Gwent Records Office, as a visitor attraction and office space for rental.
The project was a long and complex one with new build, refurbishment and conservation elements. The visitor attraction was intended to tell the story of why industry found a home in the Valleys, the ebb and flow of people to serve the industries, the wide range of roles that existed, life in an industrial town and ultimately closure. I quickly became very aware of how closely linked industry and the communities of the area were connected.
Sadly funding issues reduced the final scope of what we were able to complete, with the visitor attraction falling victim. Worse still, personally I am unsure if the wider project for the whole site has significantly benefitted the town, in terms of employment and bringing people to the area. The site has been cleaned up and the new school and hospital can only be a good thing, but nothing has replaced (or perhaps could) the employment offered by industry.
For me, personally, I got to know quite a few of the locals. From regular visits to the local sandwich shop, the local project team, through to the guys who ran the Works Archive Trust. Everyone had a story, and all had been touched in one way or another by the flux of the works, and its ultimate demise. I found the whole thing fascinating, and touching. My interest in industry and communities around it was raised. I researched the UK steel industry more deeply, and was shocked by how it had contracted in my lifetime. Images of Consett Steelworks imposing on the town, and then images after it had closed and been cleared, stuck firmly in my mind.
Seven years ago, a little before my 40th Birthday, I realised I was no longer enjoying my job - my role required me to wear so many hats, that I felt I couldn’t fit any of them properly. It was time for a change. I had already been doing some photography for a couple of clients, and I also had the promise of some design work from another client. It was time to jump ship and go it alone. I worked part-time for a year, and luckily my employer was very supportive. I was lucky to get some great commissions, and one was long term, spread over 2 1/2 years, which was ideal. I got off to a good start.
I was aware of a Welsh photographer called Roger Tiley. He had photographed some of the steelworkers in Ebbw just prior to closure, but is best known for his work in Welsh coal mines. And that was where the penny dropped - I would make a photographic project about industrial communities. Port Talbot was the obvious choice for the project. In 2016, I went to a talk that Roger was doing in Cardiff about his latest assignment (photographing the closure fo the last deep mine in the UK in Kellingley, Yorkshire) and had a chat with him. I still didn’t know what to do next, so he agreed to spend some time with me outlining how to approach the project. “It’s a big project” he said… I underestimated how big!
My aim was to try and photographically prove if there was still a link between industry and community as I had found in Ebbw Vale, and heard of elsewhere. I didn’t really know Port Talbot very well, other than a few quick visits, but in a sense that made it exciting. Plus, documentary photography was a new genre for me, so I was in at the deep end.
Things were not looking good for the works at that time. Tata was looking to sell or close most of its UK business, and I quickly decided that I should wait until things settled a little. I didn’t want to be part of the press pack looking for a story - it needed to be more personal than that. As Roger said - it’s a big project, and a long term one, so waiting was worthwhile.
In my next instalment, I’ll describe how I got the project going, and what my first impressions of Port Talbot were when I finally did.
You can see Roger’s work at: http://www.rogertiley.co.uk (he’s currently updating his site)
Ebbw Vale Works Archive Trust: http://www.evwat.co.uk
To be continued….