First Steps

Since being named as a bursary artist on the living memory project I have been working with the Community History and Archives Service based within the heart of Smethwick.

My work is concerned with the paradox of care that surrounds artefacts remaining from a post-industrial West Midlands, and increasingly engages with notions of excavation of the archive – domestic and institutional alike. I am interested in examining the way that a medium of an area or industry; steel, chain making, glass, or iron become enmeshed within everyday lives and the continuing expressions of community identity. I aim to excavate this enmeshment in a way that engages with the past, in contemplation of the present, and what lies in the wake of a post-industrial Smethwick. My gaze is particularly toward glass’ muted existence within the area.

Different factors are imbued within the industries I draw from, including, the often-invisible role of women and working-class labour. As two enduring interests of mine, I began this project by taking a broader look at the glass industry that was booming in Smethwick up until the 80’s – when industry dwindled under Thatcher’s Britain. Chances glass stood out as, at least at one point, an internationally renowned firm that employed 3,500 people. Considering its impact as a paternalistic employer on Smethwick’s industrial workers is therefore pivotal when engaging glass histories.