These are some of the remarkable paintings which have gone on display in County Durham to commemorate the Miners’ strike.
Works by a selection of artists are being shown at the Last Cage Down at the Mining Art Gallery in Bishop Auckland, starting from Friday, May 3. The exhibition aims to document the decline of the mining industry and the impact on the community, and coincides with the 40th anniversary of the 1984-85 Miners’ strike.
Exhibits include Robert Olley’s Orgreave after Guernica, depicting a violent confrontation between pickets and police on June 18, 1984; and Barrie Ormsby’s Crucified Miner. The exhibition also features pieces from the gallery’s own collection, including Marjorie Arnfield’s Women Protesting, a colourful painting of women protesting pit closures in the 1980s with placards; and several works from Durham-based coal miner and artist Tom McGuinness.
Laura Roberts from The Auckland Project said: “The mining industry is a significant part of the North East’s history which has impacted the majority of families across the area. It’s crucial to honour the community’s memories especially in its anniversary year.
“This artwork on show is vitally important in portraying the declining years of the coal mining industry. For some the strike is in living memory, but for younger generations the exhibition is a way of communicating what it was like for those whose lives were shaped by the mines.”
The Last Cage Down exhibition is on at the Mining Art Gallery in Bishop Auckland until Sunday, October 6.
The Last Cage Down Exhibition at Bishop Auckland’s Mining Art Gallery
(Image: House of Hues)The exhibition commemorates the 40th anniversary of the 1984/85 Miners’ Strike
(Image: House of Hues)Robert Olley, Orgreave after Guernica, 2018, oil on canvas
(Image: Robert Olley)Speaking of his work, Mr Omrsby said: “Before the miners’ strikes, most of my paintings were a response to the natural landscape around me, in West Durham, and although I have continued to work with the landscape, the social landscape has come to the fore. The artist cooperative I was a part of for 30 years, supported miners and their families during the strike through food distribution.
“Painting helped me process the sociopolitical enormity of the strikes. Through painting and thinking, I understood that this was a conflict between the collective and the communal, and the individual and the state.
“The miners’ defeat was the first domino to fall, knocking down the collective efforts of working people one by one – from dismantling trade unions to zero contracts. The strikes began 40 years ago but the impact is still felt today.”
(Image: Barrie Ormsby)Anne Sutherland, Bob McManners, Gillian Wales and Bob Olley (L-R) at The Last Cage Down preview.
Mr McManners and Gillian Wales said in a joint statement: “This exhibition is a poignant reminder of the struggles and resilience of our mining communities. Through the eyes of these artists, we are given a window into the turbulent times of the miners’ strike and the slow demise of the industry.”
(Image: The Auckland Project)The Last Cage Down Exhibition at Bishop Auckland’s Mining Art Gallery
(Image: House of Hues)The Last Cage Down Exhibition at Bishop Auckland’s Mining Art Gallery
(Image: House of Hues)