The Social Significance of Artistic Representations of Former Coal and Steel Communities
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THE SOCIAL SIGNIFICANCE OF ARTISTIC REPRESENTATIONS OF FORMER COAL AND STEEL COMMUNITIES PETER HENRY DAVIES THIS THESIS IS SUBMITTED IN CANDIDATURE FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY DECEMBER 2018 SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES CARDIFF UNIVERSITY Declaration This work has not been submitted in substance for any other degree or award at this or any other university or place of learning, nor is being submitted concurrently in candidature for any degree or other award. Signed ……………………………………… (candidate) Date…09/05/2019…………….… STATEMENT 1 This thesis is being submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of PhD. Signed ……………………………………..... .(candidate) Date …09/05/2019…………….. STATEMENT 2 This thesis is the result of my own independent work/investigation, except where otherwise stated, and the thesis has not been edited by a third party beyond what is permitted by Cardiff University’s Policy on the Use of Third Party Editors by Research Degree Students. Other sources are acknowledged by explicit references. The views expressed are my own. Signed ……………………………………… (candidate) Date …09/05/2019…………… STATEMENT 3 I hereby give consent for my thesis, if accepted, to be available online in the University’s Open Access repository and for inter-library loan, and for the title and summary to be made available to outside organisations. Signed …………………….………………... (candidate) Date …09/05/2019…………… i Acknowledgements Completing a PhD thesis has been likened to climbing a mountain and there have certainly been some uphill moments along this journey, made immeasurably easier by the help and inspiration provided by my supervisors Eva Elliott, Kate Pahl and Valerie Walkerdine. Thank you for patiently encouraging me through some of my wilder imaginings and providing the right mix of academic insight and practical suggestions. I would also like to thank my family, Lesley and Simon, for their unfailing support, always being there for me when the going has got a little tough. In addition, the PhD community in Museum Place, Cardiff, has been another important element in making the whole process flow more easily – being able to exchange views, both positive and negative, with fellow students has been invaluable. There are many voices in this thesis apart from my own, and I would like to give a special thanks to the people who let me into their lives, for our stimulating discussions and the way they opened their hearts through the writing and photographs that have been featured in this project. They’ve given me invaluable insights into the close-knit communities of South Wales and I hope that they have also taken away some positive memories from our encounters. Diolch yn fawr iawn. ii Abstract The former industrial heartland of South Wales is a complex mix of urban and rural morphology with a long history of male-oriented employment in the heavy industries of coal and steel. Now, in a post-industrial era, pernicious literary and media representations position the area as suffering from multiple deprivations leading to a pervasive territorial stigmatisation. As my original contribution to research, this thesis explores the nature of community and sense of place to show through arts-based methodologies that people have a rooted connection to their home that can be conceptualised through Raymond Williams’ ‘structure of feeling’. The work has allowed for a re-appropriation of spaces sometimes regarded as ‘Other’, placing them unequivocally in the centre rather than on the periphery. Working through a range of qualitative approaches including group encounters, walking tours and co-produced writing and photography activities, the research shows that there is a positive desire to assert that these communities have much to contribute and to challenge negative representations. The project examines the notion of homeland as expressed through the Welsh term hiraeth, reflecting Pearson and Shank’s assertion that the language of the Welsh landscape is ‘folded in the land’. Homeland is also explored through a writing model which addresses notions of belonging and dislocation from place. The work produced speaks to themes of nostalgia and remembering but also articulates a way to come to terms with the reality of life in a post-industrial environment. Drawing on the complex social and cultural histories of the area, the work moves through time, space and place to provide a platform for feelings and emotions that are expressed through poems, prose and pictures. These artistic representations carry an intimation of a utopian vision of communities which is conflated with an ontology of the ‘not yet’, in which traces of the future can be located in remnants of the past. The temporal shifts in narrative contribute to this perception of a world that moves between past, present and future in an interplay of affect and agency. Through explorations of inter-generationality, the research also shows the level of help organised through ad hoc, familial networks that contributes to the development of social and cultural capital. iii List of pictures Figure 1 River Taff Bridge, Merthyr. Picture: Lesley Davies .............................................. 167 Figure 2 Georgetown, Merthyr. Picture: Alan George's Old Merthyr Tydfil......................... 168 Figure 3 Merthyr High Street in another era. Postcard courtesy of Malcolm Johnson (Alan George's Old Merthyr Tydfil) ............................................................................................. 169 Figure 4 Merthyr’s High Street. Picture: Lesley Davies ...................................................... 169 Figure 5 Merthyr's High Street. Picture: Lesley Davies ...................................................... 170 Figure 6 Miners' lamp. ....................................................................................................... 172 Figure 7 Statue, Cyfarthfa Park. ........................................................................................ 174 Figure 8 Cyfarthfa Castle. ................................................................................................. 174 Figure 9 Brecon Mountain Railway. ................................................................................... 175 Figure 10 Hillside entrance................................................................................................ 175 Figure 11 Merthyr architecture. ......................................................................................... 176 Figure 12 The Crown Inn, Merthyr. .................................................................................... 177 Figure 13 Bridge near Aberfan. ......................................................................................... 177 Figure 14 Hillside near Aberfan. ........................................................................................ 177 Figure 15 Waterfall. ........................................................................................................... 178 Figure 16 River near Aberfan. ........................................................................................... 178 Figure 17 Fast food restaurant, Merthyr. ........................................................................... 180 Figure 18 Fish and chip shop, Aberfan. ............................................................................. 180 Figure 19 Pizza restaurant, Merthyr. ................................................................................. 181 Figure 20 The Village Store, Aberfan. ............................................................................... 181 Figure 21 Daffodils, Merthyr. ............................................................................................. 183 Figure 22 Cemetery, Merthyr. ........................................................................................... 183 Figure 23 St. Tydfil's Church, Merthyr. .............................................................................. 183 Figure 24 Church, Merthyr. ............................................................................................... 184 Figure 25 Church, Merthyr. ............................................................................................... 184 Figure 26 Fire-damaged chapel, Aberfan. ......................................................................... 185 Figure 27 Aber Arts sign. .................................................................................................. 186 Figure 28 Lucy playing drums. .......................................................................................... 186 Figure 29 Sophia at the keyboard. .................................................................................... 186 Figure 30 Ellie playing guitar. ............................................................................................ 186 Figure 31 Emma at the keyboard. ..................................................................................... 187 Figure 32 Striking a pose. ................................................................................................. 187 Figure 33 Performing in The Crown. ................................................................................. 188 Figure 34 A charity fund-raiser. ......................................................................................... 188 Figure 35 The Big Heart, Merthyr. ..................................................................................... 188 Figure 36 Sophia running. ................................................................................................