walking together
NAME : Walking Together DATE : 2013 - Present LOCATION : Markham Vale CLIENT : Derbyshire County Council Partners : Smiling Wolf, Chris Brammall Ltd, Markham Vale Environment Centre, Markham Vale Land Services
AIM
To create a living memorial to remember Markham Vale's three significant mining disasters, and to celebrate and acknowledge the Miners themselves.
CONCEPT
The memorial takes the form of 106 larger than life size steel figures, stretching between the village of Duckmanton and the former pit head of Markham Colliery.
This walking trail of figures symbolises a miner’s journey to the pit and back home again. The artwork will boldly cut through this dramatic industrial landscape creating a ‘desire line’ for visitors to re-imagine and remember the lives of all miners, in particular those who lost their lives for their work.
The 53 figures walking home after a shift underground will have a darker finish on the steel, compared to the 53 brighter figures walking to the pit to start a shift.
Each of these figures has fixed on his chest a circular bronze miner’s tag. On the underside is stamped the name of a miner killed, his age and job title. On the front of the tag is stamped the name and year of the disaster, encouraging the visitor to touch the very personal and tactile tags, and turn it over to discover the name.
“Markham’s three significant mining disasters must be remembered, but it quickly becomes clear that we must not forget the many other tragic mining deaths and significant injuries, and indeed the remarkable sacrifice all miners made to help build this nation’s prosperity. We believe the memorial also needs to convey a sense of celebration: of an important job well done; of a unique time and place; and of a community’s spirit and resilience. ”
