Support the Miners 1983-2009 (ongoing)
The photographs accompanying this text are two of a series of 40 which record the same number of visits I made (at time of writing) to view some posters dating from the miners strike era. The posters have survived since 1983 on a street in Salford in the north of England. I arranged the visits over a period of 6 months, inviting a different person or group of people to accompany me each time.
The posters were produced by the 'New Worker', which was and continues to be (in online format) the publication of the New Communist Party in the UK. They are emblazoned with the words, 'Support the Miners' which refers to the battle between the ruling Tory Government and coal miners over the future of coal mining in 1980's Britain. The posters advertise a number of meetings around the country to rally support for the miners cause. There are 12 in total and they endure in differing states of decay. One is dated 'Mayday 1983'.
I believe that the posters in their present situation are both remarkable and potent for many reasons. That something so ephemeral should survive the inhospitable streets of a city for 26 years is unlikely. Add to this the fact that, today the majority of British urban local authorities enforce a strict ban on fly-posting in their cities.
I envisage the project (the visits and their ensuing documentation in the photographs) as having the potential to be the catalyst for a conversation. This could be a conversation about social history, socialism and the prospect of working together towards a common aim. It could be a discussion about cities and regeneration, what should be preserved for the future, what is better consigned to the past.
The photographs that I have taken recording the visits could be said to resemble those that are taken by visitors at famous buildings/monuments or sites of historic interest. Some people have chosen to have their photograph taken with the posters whilst others are busy capturing the moment for themselves with their mobile phone cameras.
Of the individuals and groups I invited to view the posters, some were people who I thought would enjoy seeing them whilst others were people whom I believed should see them. This included everyone from the local Church of England vicar to staff from the urban regeneration company for the area, artists, friends and acquaintances from Salford and Manchester and those visiting from other cities and countries, those of an age to remember Britain in the early 1980's and those younger than the posters themselves.
The response from ex-miners groups and those with a connection to the miners dispute was low-key. Some responded to my correspondence but none agreed to visit the poster site.
On a particular Saturday afternoon I stationed myself at the poster site and chatted with passers by as they walked to and from the city centre. Many of the people I talked with were residents of a new apartment block nearby and traversed the route daily. Some reported having seen some 'paper on the wall' but none barring one group of 2 women had looked any closer than this. As people went on their way, I noticed a few pause further up the street to look at something that took their interest.
Ekleksographia:
William Blake and the Naked Tea Party
March, 2010
Maurice Carlin
Maurice Carlin is islingtonmillartacademy.blogspot.com.