Raw Material

"On entering the 21st Century, much emphasis is placed on the need for post-industrial towns and cities to develop new aspirational identities to attract outside investors and succeed in the global marketplace.

Having worked in the north of England for the past four years, we came to North Staffordshire between October 2007 and April 2008 and saw much of what we had seen elsewhere; A landscape scarred by economic forces that have left deep psychological and physical wounds. The themes that revealed themselves while we worked here included a coming of age, vulnerability, and role-play.

Our belief in photography is based on its ability to make us pause and question forces that progress at breakneck speed and it is in this social and thematic context that we present this work."

In 2008, we were commissioned by B-Arts with funding from Arts Council England and the North Staffordshire Regeneration Partnership to document the urban environment and local population of Stoke-on-Trent, and a programme of artists' commissions focusing on the heritage of the area. Our work was presented in a book publication and exhibition at AirSpace Gallery in Hanley.